


Other Half: The Lovers

by Hanguang_Jun, Wuxian_Biscuit (The_Tevinter_Biscuit)



Series: Other Half [2]
Category: Mo Dao Zu Shi
Genre: (fluff isn't until later in the fic), (happy ending is later in the series), A bit of magic recreational drug use, Alpha Wei WuXian, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Lan Wangji, Eventual mpreg (the next fic in the series not this fic), From Sex to Love, Lingerie, M/M, Omega Lan WangJi, Omegaverse, Roleplay, Rude Lan Zhan, Safewords, Sex Toys, Slow Burn, Switch wangxian, Tentacle Porn, Top Wei Wuxian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:00:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 60
Words: 291,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanguang_Jun/pseuds/Hanguang_Jun, https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Tevinter_Biscuit/pseuds/Wuxian_Biscuit
Summary: Lan Zhan is the Headmaster's prized omega nephew, and he has his eyes on Wei Wuxian. Getting him to bed will be no problem for the new alpha student, but Wei Wuxian wants something much more precious and seemingly impossible to get: a way into Lan Zhan's heart.(You can read this fic without reading Part 1, and if you read Part 1 already then you do not have to read this fic and you can skip to Part 3.)
Relationships: WangXian - Relationship
Series: Other Half [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688557
Comments: 619
Kudos: 469





	1. Introductions

**Author's Note:**

> You can skip these chapter notes, they are just an intro! If you have already read Other Half: The Soulmates, then go ahead and skip these because it's the same.
> 
> Welcome to me and Biscuit’s current roleplay! This is an omegaverse rp, it takes place in a fantasy world that is a mixture between Skyrim and Dragon Age. Most people wear outfits like you would find in those games and some wear more traditional Chinese clothes. It is a blend of Chinese and Western fantasy elements, much like The Heart Thief, so please don’t expect this to be an accurate representation of Chinese culture. There are sometimes modern things in it as well, usually explained by magic -- what I am trying to say is, take this with a grain of salt!
> 
> I know that there is no one way to write omegaverse, so I will explain how it works in this story. Social information first, and biological information at the end. In case this matters to potential readers, both authors are trans. However there are things in this fic that might trigger dysphoria and I try to lay them out below so please take care.
> 
> Alpha/omega is, for the most part, seen as men/women respectively. About 4% of women are alphas, and about 0.5% of men are omegas. Alpha women and omega men are in a sort of limbo of gender roles and they’re treated like both men and women in different ways, and sometimes conflicting ways, depending on the situation and the person interacting with them. Alphas use courtesy names, and omegas use given names.
> 
> Example: the words “mother” and “father” and “husband” and “wife” are sometimes used interchangeably for alpha women and omega men, sometimes it depends on their personality and how others view them or what they personally prefer. This isn’t really a social norm that people are aware of, so people can get confused about what to call someone.
> 
> Omega men are usually expected to mate with / marry alpha men or women. Omega men and alpha women tend to be the most expected because of heteronormativity, and alpha men are sometimes shamed for being attracted to omega men (and always shamed for being attracted to other alpha men). Omega men in general are sexualized, sometimes more than omega women, at least in public; theories about this are that omega men threaten alpha men’s masculinity, and that while it’s frowned upon to openly harass an omega woman, it’s not as taboo to harass an omega man.
> 
> Cis omega men have a vaginal opening between the testes and anus, the testes tend to be small, though they do have working sperm (it is shaped differently and less effective but it is still possible for omega men to impregnate others). In the fic you’ll see alphas’ testes being described as ‘massive’ but they’re not really huge, just average or maybe a bit bigger than average, it’s in comparison to omega testes that they look big. Often omegas’ penises tend to be smaller as well.
> 
> You will see the word “pussy” being used in this fic in regards to omega men.
> 
> Omegas have heats every 3 months and they last about a week, and alphas have ruts every 3 months and they last a few days. During these times they might act in ways that are not characteristic of them, but they’re still mostly in control of their behavior and can snap out of it with some effort. If alphas are not held responsible for rut behavior that violates others it is a result of the social atmosphere rather than their actual ability to control themselves. Omegas can only be impregnated when they’re in heat.
> 
> Cis alpha women’s anatomy isn’t important to this story since the only characters in sexual situations are men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to warn you guys before you start this, especially if you already read Part 1. Lan Zhan is different than he is in canon, and this is on purpose. If you are interested in learning about why I've made him the way he is in this AU, then check out [this meta post](https://ao3epher.tumblr.com/post/624387452355936256/i-know-that-as-writers-we-can-do-whatever-we-want) I made. Basically, he's a little bit rude and very slutty. Please don't complain about his characterization because I love him dearly and I will probably cry. :'( If you don't like it then just don't read it.
> 
> **Trigger warning: sexual harassment**

It was move-in day, and Lan Zhan spent it the way he usually did, sitting by the campus-facing window and watching the students walk about. He watched his brother go around to greet everyone, knowing that he was smiling charmingly despite barely being able to see his face from this distance. Some people had their families with them (mostly the new omegas), and some people heaved their luggage to the dorms by themselves.

It wasn’t as fun to people-watch during the winter than it was in the summer when the students played games outside, but move-in day still offered a low level of entertainment. He liked to watch the new students rubbing their hands and arms, clearly complaining about the temperature. They hadn’t been taught the warming spell yet, so they were stuck with the prickling cold.

As usual, a lot of alphas saw him up on the fourth floor leaning on the windowsill and resting his chin on his hand. They waved and some whistled. Lan Zhan sometimes acknowledged them if he was feeling generous. A small group of alphas, two of which he recognized as upperclassmen, called his name and jumped around, acting like hooligans. It was amusing, so Lan Zhan felt they deserved a little wave in return. They all cheered and the upperclassmen slapped each other on the back in congratulations. They must have told the new alphas about his reputation for being extremely hard to please.

To say that Wei Wuxian was excited about his upcoming education at Gusu University was an understatement. As much as he loathed rules and regulations, he did like knowledge. He was already a fairly skilled mage but he leapt at the chance to accompany Jiang Wanyin to the University in order to better his skills. The two of them were heading to the alpha dormitories to get set up when they heard the clamouring.

“Ugh, they’re so loud and obnoxious,” Jiang Wanyin said. “You’ll fit right in.”

“Wow! Rude!” Wei Wuxian scoffed.

Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian followed the gazes of the other alphas up to the window, catching sight of the omega boy within. Wei Wuxian could already feel his heart pound at the sight of him. He had to be the most beautiful man he’d ever seen in his life, even from this distance.

“He’s… an omega,” he mumbled under his breath. Omega boys were incredibly hard to come by. Wei Wuxian could count the number he’d encountered and heard of on one hand. He couldn’t help but wonder how he smelled, and if it was anything like the omega girls.

“Yeah, so what?” Jiang Wanyin broke him out of his daze, nudging his side with his elbow, making him wince. “Come on, stop ogling, you look like a weirdo.”

Wei Wuxian’s fists curled by his sides. “You go on ahead.”

“Whatever.”

Wei Wuxian watched as Jiang Wanyin continued walking to the alpha dorms. Then, he turned his attention back to the omega boy in the window. There was something so captivating about him. He needed to know more. So, he approached one of the clamouring upperclassmen to ask.

“Hey,” he said. “Who is that up there?”

Li Bowen turned his grin to the first year that had spoken to him. He liked talking with the newcomers. "Oh, that's Lan Zhan," he said. "He's the headmaster's nephew. The only omega boy we have on campus other than Ling Laoshi. I'm guessing you're a first year? I'm Li Bowen, this is my third year."

“Yeah, I just got here. My name’s Wei Wuxian,” Wei Wuxian said, flashing him a grin. He let his gaze wander back over to the omega boy in the window, _Lan Zhan_ his name was. “He’s awfully pretty isn’t he?”

Li Bowen shook his head once and licked his lips, eyeing the omega. He was watching them pointedly.

"Yeah. Don't get your hopes up if you're into that kinda thing. We got twelve alpha female students here I think, all of them have dibs just by nature of him being a boy and all that. Doesn't mean shit though. I'm just sayin, he stares at guys a lot more than them. Like he's doing right now. I think he's checking you out."

He waved at Lan Zhan, but got no response, which was normal. He sighed. "But yeah. Don't get too attached. He'll stare all day long but you go up to talk to him and he walks away. Or that's what I see happen to other guys. I'm not one of those kinda guys, if you know what I mean, but it's fun to try and get his attention. We managed to get a wave out of him a minute ago, did you see it? My buddies won't believe me when I tell 'em. You gotta really amuse him, that's the trick. Some guy told me he got a smile but I think he's just bullshitting."

“Well you know, I’ve always liked a challenge,” Wei Wuxian said. He laughed a little, eyes twinkling as he met Lan Zhan’s eyes. “We’ll see how things go. No skin off my teeth if nothing comes of it but it’s worth a try.” Wei Wuxian let out a thoughtful hum and smiled wide up at the omega before waving enthusiastically at him.

Lan Zhan was watching the new alpha closely. Even from that distance, he could tell he was strikingly handsome. Lan Zhan wondered if he had found his favorite. (Every year he picked a few alphas to focus on and look for; he liked to pick the most good-looking ones, but he also went for the funny ones.)

He wondered what Li Bowen had been saying about him. He knew that alpha and he was pretty respectful, but that didn’t mean he was still so when omegas weren’t in earshot. Based on the body language, he seemed to be warning the new alpha. Maybe telling him not to bother flirting.

“Be careful,” Li Bowen was telling Wei Wuxian, “the rules around here about omegas are strict and the consequences are brutal. If you’re thinkin about being an asshole, don’t. A lot of first years get in trouble for that.”

"I wouldn't dream of it. If it's that much of a problem, I'll keep my eye out for any assholeish behaviour from the others. I'll show them what's what," Wei Wuxian said with a laugh, shaking his head.

Li Bowen nodded. “Good, get on Lan Xichen’s good side,” he said.

Lan Zhan sighed and moved away from the window. He was getting bored again. He figured he should go work, since the gardeners and cooks always needed help. He took off his silk night robe and put on some pants, then got out a sky-blue set of silk robes and put them on.

He usually stuck with the looser robes that hid his form earlier in the semester, but he decided to go with one of the ones that were tighter in the torso and hugged his wrists instead of falling in wide sleeves. It all depended on whether he wanted alphas gawking at him or not. Earlier in the semester he was more likely to get harassed by the first years, so he preferred to blend into the background as much as possible and keep his form vague looking.

He had grown up at this school and had learned much too young that being as attractive as he was could lead to scary situations. He had become bolder in the past few years, buying clothes that accented his slim waist and made him feel good, but a lot of the time he was still nervous about it. Today, he felt brave. He wouldn’t even be wearing it for too long, since he always changed when he got to the greenhouse, which was on the far back end of the campus.

He made sure his hair was in order and his forehead ribbon was straight, then he put his boots on and descended the four flights of stairs. He cast a warming spell on himself just before he walked outside into the bitter cold.

Wei Wuxian had said goodbye to Li Bowen and continued on his way to the alpha dorms. As soon as he caught sight of Lan Zhan out in the open, he couldn’t help but stop to look. He was even more beautiful up close. He wanted to talk to him but he knew he didn’t have any excuse to. Well, when had that ever stopped him?

“Hey!” he said, casually approaching him. He knew that Li Bowen had said that he walked away from anyone who tried to talk to him but it was worth a shot. “I saw you up in the window. My name’s Wei Wuxian, I’m new here. I heard you’re the only omega boy in this place. I couldn’t imagine being on my own like that, I’m a bit of a social butterfly, you see. I’m sure it’s… hard though. People probably talk to you for all the wrong reasons, right? Ah, I’m not making myself sound much better, am I?”

Lan Zhan couldn’t help the pang of fear he got when he saw Wei Wuxian approaching. Gods, he should have gone with the other robes. He felt too much like bait now. He barely listened to what he was saying.

 _Please don’t follow me,_ he thought as he sped up his steps through the snow. He preferred to go around the main building to get to the greenhouse, and it was sparsely populated back there.

Well, he had expected as much. Wei Wuxian watched him walk away but didn’t pursue. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten him. Instead, he called out to him: “It was nice to meet you! I guess I’ll see you around campus!”

Lan Zhan breathed a sigh of relief, but he kept looking around. At least the pretty one wasn’t an asshole. He was glad that most alphas knew better than to actively harass him, but he still got bothered by them sometimes in ways he couldn’t punish.

Like the one that was standing a few meters in front of him now, watching him approach. Lan Zhan knew this one; he was a piece of shit. He made an arc around him, but he only walked closer.

“Hey Lan Zhan,” he sang, “I’ve got something for you.”

Lan Zhan didn’t want to know what it was. It probably wasn’t anything _bad,_ but he knew it was a trap into being forced to talk to the guy.

“Shove it up your ass,” he snapped.

The guy stepped back, hands in the air. “Woah, shit, claws out already, huh? Little bitch.”

Lan Zhan felt satisfied as he continued on his way, finally making it to the main building to walk around it. He glanced behind him just to make sure no one was following. Being rude was one way to get alphas to leave him alone, and it was the one he usually used. Being raised in a place like this, an omega had to adapt.

Wei Wuxian met back up with Jiang Wanyin when he got to the alpha dormitories. He couldn’t help but be a little glad that he didn’t inquire any further about Lan Zhan for he didn’t really want to admit his losses to him. They both had a bit of a competitive nature.

He unpacked his things in his room as quickly as he could so he could go back to exploring. He wanted to make friends, socialise, see what was going on in this place.

Lan Zhan spent the rest of the day in the greenhouse. It was a large building made of glass and had three sections: the back was for fruit trees, the middle strip was for vegetables, and the front had shelves of pots that held herbs and spices and other plants meant for alchemy purposes.

His specialty was life magic, so at least half of every day was spent in the greenhouse helping the plants grow. He didn’t have to work as much during the summer, but he kept the plants alive during the winter.

He kept to himself for the first week, only going to the greenhouse and healing classes. His friend, Su Ming, joined him in the greenhouse between her classes and talked his ear off. They had become friends as children, since her father was a professor at the school. She was a social butterfly and didn’t mind him being quiet, as long as he put up with her being scatterbrained.

The next week, he was helping his mother clean up after her healing class and she looked tired. Lan Zhan was worried and asked if she was okay.

“I’m fine,” she said with a sigh. “You know how the first week of school is.”

“You should go home,” Lan Zhan said. “I’ll finish cleaning.”

She looked at him and smiled. “You’re so sweet, A-Zhan,” she said, “but I can’t. I have to grade assignments and your brother’s gone into rut early so I have to bring him food.”

Lan Zhan frowned. “Let me take it to him,” he said.

His mother was in good health, but he still worried about her a lot. He didn’t want her to climb all of those stairs if she was tired.

“That’s not a good idea,” she said. “It’s early in the semester, you won’t want to go up there.”

“I’ll be fine,” Lan Zhan said.

“Are you sure?” his mother asked. Lan Zhan nodded. It would be a little terrifying once he got to the third floor where the first years stayed, but he would make it.

His mother came over and hugged him. “Thank you, baby,” she said.

Lan Zhan went to the kitchens and got a big basket to fill up with food. He first filled it with snacks and fruits and veggies that would last a couple of days, then he got a big bowl of stew to cover up and nestle in the middle. He got a sealed jar of ice water as well, since the only water that could be pulled up in the faucets was hot. They were used to drinking hot water when they had to, and often they made tea out of it, but during a heat or rut it was miserable.

Carrying the basket in his arms, Lan Zhan made his way to the alpha dorms. He wore his looser robes as well as a white fur-lined cape that he pulled all the way around him. He pulled the hood up and didn’t take it down when he entered, using the key he’d borrowed. It was almost dinnertime, which meant that most of the alphas were in the dorm building. That actually made him feel better, since it made it more likely to have at least one third- or fourth-year alpha around who would look out for him.

As soon as Lan Zhan got to the third floor, heads turned his way. Some mumbled and laughed amongst themselves, especially as they caught his scent. One of these alphas was a tall man, broad with a bit of stubble on his chin. A smirk tugged on his lips as he had no qualms approaching Lan Zhan, a couple of his lackeys close behind.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” he said. He stood directly in front of Lan Zhan, blocking his path. “What’s a little thing like you doing in these parts, huh? Who’s the lucky guy you’re spreading your legs for bringing all that food up here?”

_Here we go._ Lan Zhan was on the defensive. He had made it through the first two floors, which was good. Lan Xichen was just one floor above, so if something unthinkable happened he could scream and get his brother down here. He'd only experienced that once, and his brother plus rut and being angry was _not_ a package to be reckoned with.

Like usual, Lan Zhan acted without thinking. The smart thing to do would be to just act demure and try to get through, and if they put a hand on him loudly tell them to stop. But he wasn't the smartest in these situations. The habits that he’d picked up weren’t the most polite.

"Why, are you looking for a knot to sit on?" he asked the man, his tone hateful.

“Ooh feisty!” one of the lackeys chimed in. They all snickered. The tall alpha, Huang Yang, grinned wide and leaned down closer to get a whiff of Lan Zhan’s scent. “Hmmm, I like them with a nasty tongue. You could put it to much better work with your lips around my cock than spouting foolish things like that.”

"You know what they say about men who go for omega boys," Lan Zhan said. "Either you can't impress the girls or you're secretly a rutslut. Why don't you follow me up to my brother's room? I'm sure he'll take good care of you."

 _Shut up,_ he told himself. He was just spouting things he'd heard before, things that alphas used to insult each other. It was going to get him in trouble at some point, but he couldn't seem to stop. It was a reflex, the only thing he'd learned that actually worked growing up.

Wei Wuxian could hear a bit of commotion outside of his room. Laughing, mumbling, jeering. He decided to walk outside and investigate, he’d always been a bit of a magnet for chaos. The last person he expected to see was Lan Zhan, seemingly surrounded by a few bold alphas.

“I’d much rather take care of you, sweetheart. Bend you over and it’s all the same, a pussy is a pussy,” Huang Yang said. “Your cock is probably so tiny that you’d barely see it anyway.”

“He just needs someone to push him on his knees and he’ll change his tune,” one of the lackeys said, making them laugh again.

Well, Wei Wuxian wasn’t having any of that. It disgusted him, the way some alphas thought it was acceptable to talk to omegas. Did they think it was fun? What did they think they’d get out of the encounter? He tutted and stormed over.

“Hey asshole. Knock it off,” he said, shoving Huang Yang away from Lan Zhan.

“Ow! What the fuck dude!” Huang Yang retorted.

He straightened back up and growled back to Wei Wuxian. “What are you getting your panties in a twist for huh? You think he’s gonna sit on your dick if you save the pretty princess?”

Wei Wuxian growled louder and uttered a “fuck you” before punching him in the nose.

Huang Yang stumbled back with a shout. His lackeys backed up a little, seemingly uncomfortable with the way this situation was going.

“You’re fucking crazy, you broke my nose!” he said. “All this over a little boy pussy?”

Wei Wuxian didn’t hesitate to punch him again, a tooth flying out, and kicked him sharply in the side when he collapsed onto the floor. As he writhed and groaned, he drew his gaze up to the two lackeys. They immediately jumped on the spot and scrambled to help Huang Yang to his feet.

“Come on man, let’s just go,” one of them mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s not worth it,” the other said. Huang Yang let out a pathetic growl as he was pulled up onto his feet, cradling his bloody nose and split lip.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Wei Wuxian said. “You’re all pieces of shit. If I ever see any of you assholes sniffing around _any_ omega, it won’t be your nose I break next.”

The group grumbled and tutted, turning away from Wei Wuxian and stumbling away. Wei Wuxian let out a deep sigh and looked down at his bruised knuckles. He shook his head before turning his attention back to Lan Zhan. Hopefully, it had just been talk and none of them had laid a hand on him.

“Hey… are you okay?” he asked softly.

Lan Zhan was still snickering, having _greatly_ enjoyed the show, but now he schooled his expression back to being stoic. Fighting was against the rules, but he wasn't going to tattle this time. He was surprised to see that pretty alpha -- what was his name again? He was even prettier up close, but maybe Lan Zhan was biased because he _really_ liked it when alphas acted like vigilantes. It was unbelievably hot.

Honestly, taking a good look at the alpha now, Lan Zhan would seriously consider taking him to bed right then. He had sharp features but they weren't too square, his bangs were short and messy, his eyes were kind. He seemed like a lot of trouble, but... the good kind of trouble. Lan Zhan was probably projecting, but he had always been one to fantasize. After checking out the man for probably too long, he blinked and looked toward the stairwell on the other side of the room that led to his brother's room.

"Thank you," he said. "That was entertaining."

Wei Wuxian blinked owlishly at him for a moment and then grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. It seemed like he was okay. That was good.

“What uh… What are you doing over here? Can I escort you wherever it is you need to go?” he asked.

Lan Zhan was going to decline on instinct, but he followed his temptation. Not _all_ of his temptations, but one of them. He supposed he could let this one stick around, as a treat.

"Across the room," he said as he started to make his way over.

Wei Wuxian nodded and quickly began to follow him, walking by his side and glaring at any alphas who so much as looked at Lan Zhan until they looked away.

“Who’s all the food for?” he asked.

"Gege," Lan Zhan said quietly. When he reached the stairs he motioned for the alpha to not follow before he went up. He set the basket outside the door and banged on it.

"Da-ge!" he called.

It was quiet for a few seconds, then he heard Lan Xichen call back. "Didi? What are you doing here? Did you walk up here by yourself? What was that noise I heard a minute ago?"

"I'm okay," Lan Zhan said. "Your food is out here."

"Didi I swear," Lan Xichen complained. "Don't come back up here! Send someone else next time! Will you be okay going back down?"

"Yes," Lan Zhan said. "Goodnight."

He made his way back down the stairs.

“I’ll walk you out of here,” Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan watched the alpha for a few seconds before he started walking again. He wondered if he could seduce him at some point. There was never any telling whether a male alpha would find a male omega sexually attractive; sometimes they didn't show it even if they did. Lan Zhan knew he was hot, but that didn't make every alpha want to fuck him even if they recognized it. The idea of trying to seduce one and failing was horrifying and he didn't want to risk it.

"What's your name?" he asked.

“Ah, you really were ignoring me the first time we met. That hurts, you know?” Wei Wuxian whined. He pouted at Lan Zhan but soon changed his tune when he spoke again. “My name is Wei Ying, courtesy Wuxian.”

_We didn't really_ meet, _actually,_ Lan Zhan thought. "I'm Lan Zhan," he said.

Wei Wuxian nodded. “I’ve heard of you. I mean, I feel like everybody does at some point. Being the only omega boy here makes you quite the public figure.”

Lan Zhan hummed softly. That was true. It had made for a scary childhood, that was for sure. His mother had always done a good job of keeping him safe as he grew up, but it still affected him psychologically. He was somewhat dependent on his mother even now, though he had come a long way since he turned eighteen.

“You being an omega makes no difference to me. Alpha, omega, I like socialising with all kinds of people,” Wei Wuxian said. “You’re such a mystery to me, Lan Zhan. I think I’d like us to be friends.”

Lan Zhan had heard that speech too many times to count. But the difference here was that he doubted Wei Wuxian was bullshitting _completely_ and also, even if this was a plot to get in his pants he really didn't need to bother. Lan Zhan had decided he would sleep with him if he had the chance to. He supposed it was a waiting game to see if the alpha was interested or not.

"Okay," he said.

“No need to—Wait, really?” Wei Wuxian said, whipping his head around to look at Lan Zhan. He blinked quickly and then laughed a little, punching Lan Zhan’s arm playfully. “Friends it is then! Where can we hang out where you won’t get harassed?”

_My bed's pretty comfortable._ Lan Zhan licked his lips. He didn't answer the question, afraid he might just say that out loud. He didn't really want to _hang out_ with Wei Wuxian. It sounded kind of annoying unless it involved some frottage at the very least.

He narrowed his eyes, wondering how big his cock was. Hopefully not _too_ big. He glanced at the alpha's feet. They weren't huge... that was a good sign.

“…Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian called out, tilting his head. Lan Zhan seemed to be in a different place within his mind. What was he thinking about? Wei Wuxian ached to know.

Lan Zhan met his gaze calmly and blinked, then looked forward again, mind still elsewhere. Gods, what if Su Ming started dating him? He would have to tell her he has dibs.

Wei Wuxian huffed at Lan Zhan’s silence. He put his hand on his hips as he walked. “Well, at least tell me where you like to hang out so I can come and see you. There has to be somewhere I can find you that’s not in your room. If you were there all day, it’d have to drive you stir crazy.”

Lan Zhan seriously considered telling him. He spent the majority of his day in the greenhouse, and the late afternoons in advanced healing classes and sometimes in the kitchens and some early evenings in self-defense classes. But did he really want to give up any of that information to the possibility of Wei Wuxian coming to bother him? It wasn’t like he could fuck him in the middle of all the plants.

“My room is comfortable,” he said.

“Uh, yeah, I’m sure it is. You live up there on your own, don’t you?” Wei Wuxian asked. “But I can’t just… I mean… it’s inappropriate, right? I can’t just invite myself into the omega dorms whenever I feel like it. Your uncle would have my head on the chopping block! And I… I mean, you shouldn’t invite alphas you just met to your room! What if I wanted to hurt you or something? I-I don’t! I really don’t. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you whatsoever but other alphas might.”

Lan Zhan was quickly growing bored of this conversation. Maybe Wei Wuxian wasn’t as daring as he’d thought. Oh well. They were on the first floor now and Lan Zhan strode to the door. “You’ll figure it out,” he said.

Wei Wuxian huffed and folded his arms over his chest, watching Lan Zhan as he walked away. Well. He’d invited him to his room, that was a start. How was he going to get there though? He needed a key to get in, of which he didn’t have, and he was all the way on the fourth floor. Maybe he could conjure himself something…

“I’ll find a way, Lan Zhan! Watch your back!” he called out to him.

That made Lan Zhan smile a little. He did look forward to having Wei Wuxian in his room, though at this point he doubted he was going to try and flirt. Lan Zhan still needed to test the waters if he could. It would be entertaining, at least. He just knew Su Ming was going to squeal when she found out.

Wei Wuxian shook his head again with a smile. Lan Zhan was ridiculous, easily one of the most ridiculous people he’d ever met, and yet he felt so drawn to him. He would do what he could to wiggle his way into being his friend, no matter what it took.

And so, he spent many of the next few days thinking about how he could approach him again. He experimented with his conjuration magic to see what could lift him to the height of the window since a ladder was too prone to accidents.

He had been on his way back in through the University gates from a wander around one of the nearby towns when he noticed an omega woman carrying a… goat? Yeah, that definitely looked like a goat. He could see her arms trembling as she tried to carry it over to a wheelbarrow. It was only when he got a little closer did he realise that she was most definitely a teacher and not a student.

“Hey! Hey, Laoshi. Would you like a hand?” he called out as he walked towards her.

“Oh!” Lan Xia slowly lowered the goat to the ground. Relief washed over her and she smiled and laughed a little. Her back was starting to hurt. “I would appreciate it very much,” she said. “Thank you, young man.”

“No problem!” Wei Wuxian said with a smile. He rolled up his sleeves to the elbows and reached down to pick up the limp goat. It was heavier than he anticipated but no problem to carry. “Where are we headed?”

“You can just set it in the wheelbarrow,” Lan Xia said. “I’ve gotta get this thing to the healing room. They already had it unconscious before they dropped it off, usually I walk the animals in and then put them to sleep afterwards. I think this one might have been ornery. That’s why I don’t wanna try waking it up, haha.”

“I understand,” Wei Wuxian said. He carefully placed the goat into the wheelbarrow and started pushing it along. “So you’re the healing teacher, then?”

“Yes I am,” Lan Xia said. She got a good look at the student. As memorably handsome as he looked, he was unfamiliar to her. “I’m assuming you’re a first year?” she asked.

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. “Yes! My name is Wei Wuxian, I just started here. I’m already enjoying my classes though. When I’m not getting in trouble that is haha…”

Lan Xia laughed. “No, someone as polite as you?” she said. “You don’t look like a troublemaker.”

“I’ve always been fond of ah… how should we put it? Following my own rules and ways of doing things…” Wei Wuxian joked lightly. He smiled.

“Oh, I see. Do you have any idea what your specialty might be?”

“I’m specialising in conjuration. I was raised in the Jiang family so this is not my first dabble in magic.”

“Oh wow,” Lan Xia said. Wei Wuxian was from a nice family, then. And he was handsome and polite. She wondered if Lan Zhan had seen him yet. She was _sure_ he would like him. She tried not to get ahead of herself, though. “Are you in any advanced classes yet? I bet it’s interesting being a first year ahead of the game.”

“Mhmm. I’ve skipped pretty much all of the basics,” Wei Wuxian said. He broadened his shoulders out, feeling a little pride. Truthfully, he wasn’t in the same classes as many of the first years. “Sorry, I don’t think I caught your name?”

Lan Xia smiled. “I’m Lan Xia,” she said. “I guess you weren’t paying attention during the welcoming speech? It’s okay, no one really does.” “You might get along with my sons,” she attempted. “Both of them are like you, they’ve been learning magic for a long time. My eldest one especially, since he’s now a professor at the young age of twenty three! How old are you?”

“I’m twenty,” Wei Wuxian said. Then, everything seemed to click in his head. Lan Xia… Lan… Lan Zhan had said he had a brother. “Are you… Lan Zhan’s mother?”

Lan Xia beamed. Oh, this was good. He already knew about Lan Zhan. “Proudly so!” she said. “He’s your age, actually! Have you met him yet?”

“Yeah, I have. Not of his choice though really, haha…” Wei Wuxian said, laughing nervously. “He ignored me the first time I spoke to him but… he came to the alphas dorms a little while ago and some of the alphas on my floor were… rude, to him. I got them to go away and he allowed me to escort him to and from his destination. But that’s about it. He barely spoke to me.”

That made Lan Xia gasp. “Oh no... I feel so bad! He only went into the dorms because he wanted to help me out. My eldest was in rut and I was going to bring him food but A-Zhan could tell I was tired and wanted to do it for me.” She put a gentle hand on Wei Wuxian’s arm. “I’m so glad you were there. Thank you. It wasn’t very bad, was it?”

Wei Wuxian shook his head. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. I hate that kind of attitude. Some alphas really think they can just do and say whatever they want. I do want to… look out for your son, if I can, if he needs it. I’ll keep a careful eye out.”

“I would be so grateful, given that he lets you,” Lan Xia said. “He probably wouldn’t tell me if anything happened, especially if it was because of me. It hasn’t been easy for either of us, I’m sure you can imagine. Raising a little omega boy in a campus full of young adult alphas who aren’t always nice. I’ve done my best to keep him safe, but now he’s all grown up and I can’t babysit him anymore. Evidently his brother can’t always be around either. He needs a friend, not a chaperone.” She gave him a little smile. “Or more than a friend, who knows?”

It took a moment for the implications of Lan Xia’s words to settle in. Then, he blinked quickly and his cheeks went red. He laughed again, even more nervously. “I want to be his friend, if he’ll let me,” he said softly. “I assume it’s going to be hard-earned, his friendship.”

Lan Xia’s smile turned gentle. “It might be,” she said. “He’s always had difficulty making friends. He’s never been one to initiate, anyway. But he’s such a sweet boy.” They got to the stairs and Lan Xia paused. “Ah, this was where I was going to enlist some help. The healing room is upstairs, I’m afraid.”

“It’s alright, I can carry him,” Wei Wuxian said. He reached down into the wheelbarrow and hauled the goat up into his arms. “Let’s go.”

Lan Xia led Wei Wuxian up the stairs and to a room a little bit down the hallway. She found the door already open and the lights already on, so it wasn’t too surprising to see Lan Zhan at her desk.

“A-Zhan! What are you doing in here?” she asked.

Lan Zhan was shocked to see Wei Wuxian, and he didn’t know what to say at first. He felt himself blush a little. “I was filling the vials with healing potion,” he said. “You said you needed to do it.”

Lan Xia directed Wei Wuxian over to a table. “You can set that there,” she said, then smiled at Lan Zhan. “You don’t have to do everything for me, baby. But thank you. That will save me a lot of time.”

“Hi Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian said with a grin. He felt his heart pound upon seeing the omega again, it had been a good few days after all. If he hadn’t had a goat in his arms, he would’ve waved at him. Instead, he walked over to where Lan Xia had instructed and set down the goat, then dusted off his forearms.

“Wei Wuxian says he knows you. You didn’t tell me you made another friend!” Lan Xia said. Lan Zhan looked down at the vials and didn’t say anything. She turned back to Wei Wuxian and said, “Thank you for your help. Come by if you ever need anything, okay?”

“It was my pleasure, Lan Laoshi,” Wei Wuxian said, bowing his head towards Lan Xia. “Feel free to collar me if you ever need another strong pair of arms.”

_I could use a strong pair of arms,_ Lan Zhan thought. _One will do, actually._

He watched Wei Wuxian leave and then went back to filling vials.

“He’s so nice,” his mother said. “He saw me with that goat and offered to help. So polite.”

Lan Zhan knew that tone. He bristled. Yes, he wanted Wei Wuxian to fuck him, but he wasn’t ready to have his mother talking about marriage again. Before six years ago she was telling him never to get married and that such a thing was just a trap to make an omega subservient to an alpha. He missed those times. Now she had changed her tune and wanted him to get hitched.

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” she continued.

Lan Zhan sighed. “I suppose,” he said.

She chuckled. “I like him,” she said. “I think he would be a good friend. You should give him a chance.”

 _He’ll get a chance if he wants it,_ Lan Zhan thought. He didn’t know what he would do if Wei Wuxian turned out to not want him. Especially now that his mother liked him...

End Notes: 


	2. Testing the Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what [Lan Zhan's nest](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/362633653442052111/736324437665644664/Untitled_Artwork.png) looks like.
> 
> Also, I've probably said this enough but: if you're expecting this to be as happy as Other Half: The Soulmates with them falling in love right away and getting along together perfectly right from the start, I'll have to disappoint. I have the relationship angst tag in there for a reason. 😅 There will be a happy ending though, I promise. Hang in there.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t seem to stop himself from thinking about Lan Zhan. The man had barely said more than five words to him and yet… he felt so drawn to him. His mother had been nice too, she seemed to encourage their friendship after learning how he’d protected her son. He wondered what she would think of him now, making his way over to the omega dorms in the evening after classes had ended and no one was around.

He looked up at the window Lan Zhan looked out of from time to time and wondered if he’d even let him in once he was up there. He’d been the one to offer his room to him, right?

With a deep breath, Wei Wuxian closed his eyes and summoned his magical energy. He’d been working on a little project for the past week, perfecting it in order to do this. A mass of black tentacles erupted under her feet and then wrapped around his legs. Right now, they couldn’t move on their own, it took a lot out of him to get them to grow and raise him up but he knew he would be able to hang on until he was at his desired height.

They grew higher and higher until Wei Ying was finally eye-level with the window. He took a firm hold on the windowsill, pulling himself up onto it, and let the tentacles dissipate. Then, he knocked on the window.

Lan Zhan had recently gotten back from his martial arts class and was still finishing up his bath when he heard the soft grunting of someone who sounded suspiciously like Wei Wuxian climbing onto the windowsill just past the privacy screen, then the knock on the barrier.

Well, it looked like Wei Wuxian wasn’t too boring after all.

“Why did it take you so long?” he asked.

He didn’t really care, he just wanted to hear his voice and confirm that it was Wei Wuxian before he let him in, since the privacy screen blocked the window from view.

“I’d like to see you try and climb up to a fourth story window without being seen,” Wei Wuxian answered. He let out a huff. Lan Zhan was so ungrateful of his efforts to see him. Hopefully, it wouldn’t all be for nothing.

Lan Zhan seriously considered staying in the bathtub for two seconds before deciding against it. Maybe someday later he could pull that off, but it would only make things awkward right now. The _sound_ of getting out of the bath could be seductive, right? Just subtle enough?

“Come in,” he said. He waved his hand and neutralized the magical barrier that acted as the glass of the windows in his room.

Cold air blew in and he shivered as he got out of the bathtub and quickly dried himself off and put on some underwear and his night robe and stockings. His robe was modest, it barely showed a hint of collarbone and wrapped well around his body and covered everything that a normal robe would. He might want to invest in a more revealing one if things went well, but this was fine for now.

He pulled the plug on the bath and walked out from behind the privacy screen, squeezing his hair with a towel.

Now he’d been given permission, Wei Wuxian hopped through the window and dusted himself off. He looked around the room, making a satisfactory hum as he did.

“Wow, your room is _huge!”_ he said. “I guess this is the perks of having any room in this building all to yourself huh?”

"Mm."

Lan Zhan looked Wei Wuxian up and down. He looked nice in this kind of lighting, it made his hair look even more wavy and almost red. Lan Zhan also noted that he was ogling at everything else in the room except him.

He went to his vanity to sit and comb out his hair, and he continued watching him through the mirror. _This guy is stupid,_ he found himself thinking. _I'm not getting laid tonight._

Wei Wuxian wandered around the room, drinking in the sight of all the little things as if they would give him some kind of answers as to the sort of person that Lan Zhan was. Then, he turned to look at Lan Zhan himself through his mirror. His gaze followed the movement of his comb through his hair, then found himself staring a little at the slight exposure of his collarbone before quickly moving his gaze back up. The last thing he wanted was for Lan Zhan to feel objectified.

“You take really good care of your hair,” he commented. “I can only comb mine when it’s wet or it all just frizzes out like poof.” He gestured with his hands. “But there’s so much of it, it’s just a pain.”

Lan Zhan switched from his large comb to the fine-tooth one and started running that one through his hair. "Do you use any oils in it?" he asked.

“Oil? Why would I put oil in my hair?” Wei Wuxian asked with a tilt of his head. Was that a thing people did? Did Lan Zhan do that? Was that why it looked so silky to the touch?

After he was finished combing his hair, Lan Zhan wiped his combs off and put them away before he stood to go behind the privacy screen. He got a little jar of oil took it over to Wei Wuxian for him to see.

"You can get hair oil at beauty shops," he said softly. "I put some on my fingers and run it through after I wash my hair. Keeps it shiny."

“Oh, so that’s why it always looks so pretty,” Wei Wuxian said as he looked down at the oil. He tilted the jar lightly and then looked inside. He even leaned in to give it a little sniff.

Lan Zhan stared at Wei Wuxian some more. He noticed he was still wearing his boots, and he wrinkled his nose. His floor was covered in a squishy, padded mat that didn't need wet boots on it. At least they weren't muddy, since there was still a decent amount of snow on the ground.

"Take those off," he said, then padded over to his nest. He pulled the string that lifted up the blanket sides to bunch towards the point at the top and made the nest just an open platform with a little railing around the edges. He crawled into the nest and pulled Wangji guqin over so he could play.

At first, Wei Wuxian didn’t know what he was talking about until he followed his gaze down to his boots. Ah. Right. He quickly unlaced them and pulled them off his feet, almost falling over in his desperate plight to remove them. Just as he put them to one side, he heard Lan Zhan begin to play.

“You’re a musician,” he said. He crept towards the blankets where Lan Zhan had wandered off to but the stench of omega prevented him from moving any closer.

This was a nest. Lan Zhan’s nest.

Lan Zhan looked at Wei Wuxian curiously, his fingers still moving over the guqin. He wanted to invite him to sit in the nest, but he didn't really know if that was a good idea. He highly doubted they were going to have sex, and honestly, that was really all that Lan Zhan cared about. He wouldn't kick him out, though. He would tolerate him for now.

Wei Wuxian stood awkwardly outside of the nest, shifting from foot to foot. He reluctantly looked away from Lan Zhan. “You play beautifully…” he complimented.

_You could at least lean on the railing or something,_ Lan Zhan thought. He wondered why Wei Wuxian wanted to be his friend at all. If he was trying to fuck him it would have happened by now. Lan Zhan had never met an alpha his age who seriously interacted with him for a purpose _other_ than trying to get sex. There were those that just wanted to get his attention for the approval of their peers, but they never went this far. Was Wei Wuxian trying to win a bet or something?

"You know, I can play the flute. Pretty well too! I have one in my room, it relaxes me sometimes, you know? Maybe we could duet together, that'd be fun," Wei Wuxian suggested. "But I mean it when I say you really are good! How long have you been playing? You don't see many people playing the guqin."

Lan Zhan looked down at Wangji guqin. "I started when I was eight," he said.

He didn't know many songs that were designed for duets. He considered, then he switched his hand position and started playing a different tune. He sang quietly along with it, some song about love and longing or whatever.

All of the songs he knew for singing were about alphas, which he thought was unfortunate. He had been tempted before to change the words on one to be about growing plants. Or making stuffed animals. But the art of singing when it came to omegas was to make them beautiful and desirable. He wasn't a bard and didn't know any bards who weaved melodies about adventures and tragedies.

“Oh, that’s a long time. I only started learning the flute when I was twelve. It was my mother’s keepsake but I didn’t… get a chance to learn until I was twelve, when the Jiangs hired me a private tutor,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

Lan Zhan was listening, but he kept singing and playing. However old Wei Wuxian was, he had probably been playing the flute for a good amount of time. He was likely very good. He wondered if he could sing. If so, he was sure all the other omegas would go even more wild.

He had heard a lot about Wei Wuxian in the past few days before and after his healing classes. _Don’t get your hopes up girls, he’s stupid. Good luck seducing him._

Lan Zhan noted sadly that it was more likely for him to just not like omega boys. He didn’t like that possibility, even if it was the biggest one. He preferred to think of Wei Wuxian as dense.

Wei Wuxian quietened down after a moment to listen to Lan Zhan’s singing and playing. It was oddly soothing and he figured that if he really wanted, he could probably lay down and fall asleep to it.

Lan Zhan could feel his gaze but he didn’t look up. He felt conflicted and confused, and his anxiety was acting up. When the song was over, he sat for a few seconds before asking, “Why did you come up here?”

"You asked me to," Wei Wuxian replied, blinking quickly like it was obvious. "I want to be your friend and you wouldn't tell me where you hang out outside of your room so I... came up here."

That didn’t make Lan Zhan feel any better. It felt like a rejection. “Why do you want to be my friend?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian tilted his head to one side. "Do I need a reason? You were a mystery to me and it's rare that people ignore me so I guess I got a little curious. But you're evidently very talented and beautiful so... isn't that enough of a reason?"

Lan Zhan pressed his lips together. It might be enough of a reason to befriend anyone else. Su Ming was his friend because they had grown up together and he was nice to her. But he knew he was boring and she only hung out with him when she wanted to wind down. Sometimes he made her sad just because of his own disposition, he could tell.

“Not really,” he said quietly. “I’ll bore you.”

"Don't be ridiculous," Wei Wuxian protested. "You haven't bored me so far. I quite like listening to your music actually. I still think we should duet. I'll bring my flute next time."

Lan Zhan didn’t understand how Wei Wuxian wasn’t bored. He was just standing there. It wasn’t like Lan Zhan was a welcoming person.

At this point, Lan Zhan just decided that he would keep playing and then go to bed once Wei Wuxian realized he was right and left. Or he would tell him to leave, whichever came first. He was feeling morose and grumpy.

Wei Wuxian decided to sit outside the nest, closing his eyes as he listened to the music. It was almost equally as beautiful as Lan Zhan himself. He found himself humming along after a moment. "You're a mage too, aren't you? What kind of magic do you specialise in?"

Lan Zhan was half focused on the song, so it took him a moment to process the question and think of his answer. “Life magic,” he said.

"Whoa, really? Can you show me some? I've never seen real life magic before!" Wei Wuxian chirped, suddenly looking eager.

“It’s not that interesting to see,” Lan Zhan said. He glanced around the room. It was shaped in a half circle, and much of the straight wall was lined with potted plants. He also had a fully grown loquat tree in the corner closest to the nest.

"You're lying but I don't care. I want to see it," Wei Wuxian replied. "Come to think of it, there's not even a life magic teacher here is there? Ah, did you teach yourself it? That's really cool!"

“It takes a long time,” Lan Zhan said. Life magic in general was slow, and it took a long time to learn. It would take him hours to grow a tree from a seed. He was actually pretty good at it; new students of life magic might take days to do that. But he hoped that by the time he was thirty he would be able to grow a tree from a piece of animal skin in minutes. He practiced every day, so he was confident that he would make it.

Wei Wuxian pouted at him, puffing his cheeks out. "Come on. Pleaasseeee? Pretty please? Show me something!"

Lan Zhan took a slow, deep breath. After a moment he set Wangji aside and pointed at the tree in the corner. “Bring me a loquat,” he said.

"Okay," Wei Wuxian said.

He padded over to the tree in question and gently retrieved one of the loquats. He carried it back over to Lan Zhan and paused when he reached the edge of the nest again. With a deep breath, he stepped just inside so he could hand the fruit to Lan Zhan.

That was bold and pretty rude, but Lan Zhan wasn’t going to complain. He found that he didn’t really mind. He might even go so far as to say that he liked it.

He took the loquat and took a bite out of it. He had touched up the tree recently, so it was nice and ripe. After he swallowed, he held the fruit in both hands. The tips of his fingers glowed as his magic crept into the loquat. He focused and took a deep breath through his nose, and the part that had been bitten off started to slowly regrow.

"Oh!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed. He seemed to forget all about the rules and boundaries that should have been in place as he waltzed over and looked over Lan Zhan's shoulder to better observe the magic happening. "That's so cool!"

While he continued growing the fruit, Lan Zhan thought about Wei Wuxian.

He had had no trouble publicly breaking the rule against violence even when it wasn’t necessary, but he had hesitated to secretly break a rule as simple as going into his room. He was in a nest without permission, which was pretty rude, but he had hesitated before doing it. He seemed rather well-mannered compared to the vigilante beating up a larger man. That wasn’t a _turn-off_ per se, he liked how nice he was to his mother and how he’d escorted him through the dorms. But the hesitation made Lan Zhan feel awkward and unsure.

Maybe Lan Zhan just wanted him to show some sort of _interest._ Not like what he was doing then, but he wanted him to... be more proactive in breaking the rules to get close to him. He wanted Wei Wuxian to ogle at him.

And then he was right back at square one. All of his previous thoughts could be explained: he wanted Wei Wuxian to be sexually attracted to him, and the more he hesitated and failed to act, the clearer it was that he _wasn’t._ And Lan Zhan was struggling with that... and that bothered him.

He had never been this desperate before, he had never _wanted_ an alpha like this before. Maybe it was just painful to accept that it wasn’t going to happen. But if Wei Wuxian was determined to be his friend, he would _have_ to get over it... or tell him to fuck off. Otherwise it would tear him up.

Or maybe everything he was thinking was bullshit. All he really knew was that Wei Wuxian made him _feel_ in intense ways and he didn’t like it. He simultaneously wanted him to go away and wanted him to come closer. It was confusing.

"It really is amazing, you know, especially if you're self-taught," Wei Wuxian continued to praise. He leaned in a little closer, lingering dangerously close to Lan Zhan's neck. Then, he caught a strong inhale of his scent. Oh Gods. He smelled so sweet, so _good_...

And from this angle, he could peek just beyond the bend of his robe. Wei Wuxian quickly moved to stand back up right and laughed nervously.

The back of Lan Zhan’s neck had tingled and he had tilted his head ever-so-slightly without thinking. As soon as he had sensed an opportunity, he slowly turned his head toward Wei Wuxian, but then the alpha was backing away. Especially after being so deep in thought, Lan Zhan felt even more intensely. It was a weird feeling in his gut, making him vulnerable. Now he was more confused than before. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He had started to bare his neck a second ago. Without even realizing it, he had submitted to Wei Wuxian. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

"I...um... you know, you asked me why I came, but why did you invite me to your room in the first place?" Wei Wuxian said between laughs, suddenly bristling at the way Lan Zhan was looking at him. He'd caught the submissive scent and it had put him on edge.

Lan Zhan noticed the awkwardness. He read Wei Wuxian’s tone as accusatory, but he forced himself not to get defensive. He knew he had a tendency to interpret things as more negative than they were. He looked back down at the loquat in his hand.

He could tell the truth. _I wanted to see if you would fuck me._ It would get all of this over with fast. Either Wei Wuxian would respond positively, or he would respond negatively and Lan Zhan could make him leave.

But the idea of being rejected in such blatant terms made Lan Zhan’s heart pound. He really thought he would cry, and crying in front of an alpha (even his brother or uncle) was a frequent scene in his nightmares. It would traumatize him probably, similar to public humiliation.

He didn’t have to tell the whole truth. In fact, there was another reason he had done it that was semi-subconscious at the time and probably more important than wanting to give Wei Wuxian a chance to fuck him.

“I didn’t invite you,” he said. “You asked me where I hang out and said I would go crazy if I stayed in my room. I said my room was comfortable. I meant that I wouldn’t mind being here all day. You interpreted it as an invitation. I chose not to correct you because... I wanted to see if you were interested enough in me to find me worth the trouble of getting in here. And I wanted to know if you had the balls to do it.”

"I see... Well, as you can see, I am very much interested! I want to get to know you!" Wei Wuxian said, broadening his shoulders.

Was this just a game to Lan Zhan? What did he want out of this encounter? Did he even want to be his friend? He could be so hard to read. "And I very much have the balls. Big balls, in fact."

Lan Zhan turned his head to give Wei Wuxian's crotch an appreciative look. Did that mean he had a big dick too? Taking in a deep breath, he licked his bottom lip and then dragged it through his teeth before looking back down at his loquat. He took a bite and considered Wei Wuxian's words.

Then a new thought struck him, one that probably scared him more than any other one he'd had that evening:

What if Wei Wuxian's interest was _romantic_ in nature?

A simulation played through Lan Zhan's mind: Wei Wuxian continues to talk to him and get information out of him, realizes how awful he is at everything other than sex, and leaves after opening up Lan Zhan's heart and knowing him in ways no one else did. He continues on to find a better omega and Lan Zhan is left raw, crying himself to sleep with his self-esteem at record lows.

Lan Zhan was too overwhelmed by the idea to even think about whether that was rational or not. He felt kind of sick. His scent soured with distress and he reeled it back in as best he could, leaning forward and putting his forehead on his palm.

Wei Wuxian immediately noticed the souring of his scent and he was set on high alert. Oh no. What had he done? The last thing he'd wanted was to distress Lan Zhan. Gods, what was he supposed to do now?

"Ah, um, I didn't mean to upset you. Your scent..." he said. "Do you want me to go? I do want to stay but if you want me to go then I'll go. Whatever you want, okay?"

_Don't go,_ Lan Zhan thought. It scared him a little. Wei Wuxian's gentleness was threatening; it made Lan Zhan want to open himself up. He didn't feel this way about other people except maybe his mother. It was a vulnerability that he wasn't prepared for.

"You should go," he whispered.

"Are you... Are you sure?" Wei Wuxian asked. He didn't really want to go but if that was what Lan Zhan wanted, he would respect his wishes. "Could you... at least tell me what I did wrong? Then I'll know not to do it again."

Lan Zhan wanted to tell him the truth. _You didn't do anything and that's the problem and now I can't stop thinking about how much of a bad person I am and you're making me feel things that I don't understand and the longer you're here the closer I am to crying and then I'd have to kill you to make sure no one finds out._

He was catastrophizing, but it didn't matter because he wasn't going to say that anyway. He felt vulnerable and he was scared of himself and what he might do, so he reacted in the same way he always did when he was scared around an alpha.

"Get the _fuck_ out," he snapped, a growl underlining his words.

Wei Wuxian blinked owlishly at him, heart hammering in his chest. He would surely be going over his every action later to try and pinpoint what he had done to make Lan Zhan react this way. He swallowed roughly and nodded demurely.

"Okay," he whispered.

Then, he quickly made his way out of the nest, towards the window. It took him a moment to regain his clarity so he could summon his magic in order to get back down.

Lan Zhan stayed bristled until he saw Wei Wuxian disappear over the windowsill. He reactivated the magical barrier and then pulled the string on his nest to let the blanket fall back over it and create a cave for him to wallow in. He dug himself under his stuffed animals and cried, and tried to figure out why he was crying.

He didn't come up with an answer, though it was likely that he was avoiding it. He cried until he exhausted himself enough to want to sleep, his emotions finally shutting down in his numbness. He dragged himself to his bed and turned out the lights, willing himself to forget about all of this.


	3. Under the Apple Tree

The next day he stayed in his room except to go to meals with his family. He worked on his plants for a little while and then decided to make a stuffed animal. He had enough materials to make a medium to large rabbit in a fat spherical position with its ears back. He spent the morning sketching and designing the pattern, then after lunch he cut the fabric and sat in his nest and sewed. Once he had finished that, he stuffed it with puffy cotton and closed it and embroidered the eyes and nose.

The project helped to keep him busy and he was able to slowly come to terms with what had happened the night before. It took him most of the day to accept the hardest part: he had a crush on Wei Wuxian.

It didn’t _mean_ anything really, it wasn’t written in stone. He didn’t have to act on it. He really wasn’t a good candidate for a romantic partner. He had never been good at showing affection to Su Ming or his family — other than his mother. The only times in his life where he said that he loved someone was to her.

One time Su Ming had been upset because someone had said she was annoying and Lan Zhan truly had difficulty telling her that she was a fun person and he enjoyed being with her. He had done it, but it didn’t come naturally at all.

Romance required omegas to fawn and smile and tell their alphas how handsome and amazing they were, and to tell them they loved them. An omega who didn’t do that was talked about as being uninterested and eventually the alpha would leave. Lan Zhan really couldn’t imagine himself doing that.

He felt a little better once he had accepted all of this. He finished his stuffed animal and made a spot for it in his nest, then finished touching up his plants before going to sleep. The next day he would return to work in the greenhouse.

Wei Wuxian had opted to give Lan Zhan some distance following the events that took place in his room. He didn’t know what he did to upset him still but he thought the appropriate thing to do was give him some space.

Even so, he found himself lingering around in his room for a while, reflecting on the events. Lan Zhan was pretty and talented, but he was hard to read and could be a little cold. But just the thought of him made his heart pound. He wanted to see him more, if he would let him.

Later, he found himself wandering the campus, exploring any nooks and crannies he’d yet to approach. Eventually, he noticed a greenhouse in the distance. He hadn’t seen that before. With a hum, he walked over and looked it up and down. Then, he caught a glimpse of a familiar swish of long, dark hair. Lan Zhan? Wei Wuxian pushed open the door and looked around.

Lan Zhan sat on the wooden floor in between two rows of plants, wearing his work clothes which consisted of dark brown pants and boots, a plain shirt and a brown jacket. He had the sleeves pushed up a little and his hands were bare despite the cold. He had his hands in the dirt around the plant and he was carefully inspecting the soil for fertility.

He assumed it was a gardener that came in; they had ten gardeners to care for the vast amounts of plants they had, since Lan Zhan wouldn’t be able to give all of them magical aid if he tried. There were simply too many and his magic took too long.

“Ah, it seems I’ve found the prettiest flower of them all,” Wei Wuxian teased lightly in a sing-song voice as he approached Lan Zhan. He sure was cute in his little work clothes. “Hey, Lan Zhan, I didn’t expect to find you here.”

Lan Zhan’s heart sped up and his ears started to get hot. _The prettiest flower._ He sat up a little straighter and looked at Wei Wuxian in bewilderment. His first fear was that he was going to try to talk about the other night when Lan Zhan told him to fuck off. He didn’t know what he would say to that. He looked around through the glass walls to see if anyone else was walking around back there. It looked like it was just him.

“Why are you at the back of campus?” he asked curiously.

“I was just exploring. I had some time to kill so I thought I’d just walk around and see if there was anything interesting going on,” Wei Wuxian said honestly. He walked over and crouched down next to Lan Zhan. “What are you doing over here?”

Lan Zhan kept staring at Wei Wuxian, feeling himself blush more. Dammit, he was so cute. He rubbed his heated cheek (unknowingly wiping dirt on his face) then looked down at the plant. It was a tomato plant, not fully grown yet. Lan Zhan was about to grow it some more once he decided that the conditions were good enough.

“I work here,” he said. “I help keep the plants alive during the winter. This way we don’t have to buy as much food from the city to use for meals.”

“Oh! With your life magic. That’s cool,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He glanced at him and noticed the dirt on his cheek. “Uh, you have a little… um… on your cheek… I’ll get it!” He licked his thumb and reached over to wipe the dirt from Lan Zhan’s cheek.

Lan Zhan blinked a few times and looked back at Wei Wuxian with wide eyes, his lips parting in surprise. His cheeks got even hotter and he was sure Wei Wuxian could feel it radiating off his face. He generally didn’t blush in his cheeks for some reason, at least not visibly. His ears were usually the first to turn red. But he had blushed in his cheeks before.

“There we go,” Wei Wuxian said, grinning at him. He couldn’t say he wasn’t enjoying the way his face was lighting up like a tomato. “All squeaky clean.”

_How can someone be so pretty?_ Lan Zhan wondered. He turned back to the plant and put his hands back in the soil. It was hard to focus with Wei Wuxian staring at him...

For a little while, Wei Wuxian was content to just watch Lan Zhan work. It was mesmerising in a way. He felt like he could watch him forever. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked after a moment.

Lan Zhan considered. He could tell Wei Wuxian to go tend to the plants, but he didn’t know if he even knew how to. He could see if he knew a spell to boost Lan Zhan’s magic and make it go faster... those usually weren’t taught very often and it was so early in the semester that it probably wouldn’t have come up, but he might know it from somewhere else. He had never thought of using that kind of spell with life magic. It was mostly used for battle magic and emergency situations.

“Can you do a magic transference spell?” he asked.

There were lots of little spells and tricks that Wei Wuxian had picked up when he was still living with the Jiangs. He was quite ahead when he arrived at the University but this was the only place that he would be able to fully boost those skills.

“I can!” he said.

“You can boost my magic and make it work faster,” Lan Zhan said. He considered; the spell required skin to skin contact, but he preferred using both hands when working. He tugged up his sleeve more until it reached his elbow, then he tapped his forearm to tell Wei Wuxian where to touch.

Wei Wuxian nodded. He put a careful hand on Lan Zhan’s forearm and closed his eyes as he focused his magical energy. It was nice to be this close, he thought, to be touching Lan Zhan… He cast the spell and gave as much to Lan Zhan as he could.

Lan Zhan first noticed how big Wei Wuxian’s hand was in comparison to his arm... how would it feel wrapped around his wrist? Then he received the magic and sucked in a breath.

He had only done the magic transference spell with Su Ming, so he hadn’t thought about how it might be different with alpha magic. It felt odd... foreign. And Wei Wuxian was doing it _hard._ Lan Zhan felt overwhelmed with the amount of magic in his body.

He took a deep breath and put his hands on the tomato plant, then started growing it.

“Oh,” he breathed.

It was _fast._ The plant shifted and moved as it crept taller and the little green buds swelled to giant red tomatoes within ten seconds. The leaves were a vibrant, healthy green, making him blink a few times. It would usually take him _forever_ to make a plant burst with this much life during the winter, and he usually saved his magic to spread out over many plants rather than focus it on one.

“I think we make a good team, wouldn’t you agree?” Wei Wuxian said, noticing how quickly the tomato plant had grown. He chuckled a little. “Maybe I should come here often. With my magic and yours combined, we could grow even more plants.”

“Yeah,” Lan Zhan breathed, still staring in amazement.

He stood up and jogged down the row until he got to the part where trees were situated. Trees, like any other big plant, took a large amount of magic. They also wanted to hibernate during the winter, so it was difficult to keep them producing. The school usually didn’t serve things from trees like apples or other fruits during the winter since it would require so many of them to be harvested. Sometimes Lan Zhan would spend a day or two just working on the apple trees, and it would allow for a small apple pastry for each of the students. It was a lot of work for just that. It was easier to just wait until the trees came back naturally.

He stood by an apple tree and looked up at the bare branches. Could he regrow this completely with Wei Wuxian?

Wei Wuxian got up to follow Lan Zhan down the row and then followed his gaze to the apple tree. He stared at it for a moment, then turned to look at Lan Zhan. “You think we could make the apples grow if we combine magic?” he asked.

Lan Zhan met Wei Wuxian’s eyes for a moment, then knelt down. Taking the little shovel from his belt, he dug down to find a root of the tree. He could still use his magic through the bark, but it was like a barrier. The roots were much more receptive. When he found one, he wrapped his hand around it and held his other hand out to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian’s heart hammered in his chest. He smiled and took Lan Zhan’s hand to repeat the same process as earlier, channeling his magical energy into Lan Zhan. He decided that he liked holding Lan Zhan’s hand.

Lan Zhan shivered a little when he felt that powerful magic again, but instead of letting it build up, he sent it through his hand and into the tree.

“Time to wake up,” he said softly.

When he looked up, his mouth opened and he couldn’t help but smile in wonder. _Gods,_ it was working. Little buds were popping out on the bare branches and opening up into bright green leaves with little pink buds. The buds grew and blossomed into flowers while leaves kept growing and growing. This was the part where Lan Zhan had to really focus and where his magic was required to manipulate rather than simply grow. Usually this took a long time and a lot of effort, but this time the fertilization took mere seconds. He let out a heavy breath and watched as the flowers fell off and apples started to grow.

Wei Wuxian turned to look at Lan Zhan and felt his cheeks heat up when he saw that little smile on his face, the look of wonder. He kept a tight hold on his hand, unwilling to let go. Did he know how cute he was when he smiled? Wei Wuxian definitely wanted to see if he could pry more smiles out of him.

Lan Zhan was so excited, so engrossed in the way the tree reacted to the magic. He had never experienced something like this before. A blossom fell on his face and he laughed quietly from the joy it brought him. He kept sending magic through as the apples swelled and turned a deep red. When they seemed ripe, he took his hands away and stood up to pick one off and take a bite. It was sweet and crispy. It was perfect.

He couldn’t help it; he turned to Wei Wuxian and smiled.

When Lan Zhan laughed, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but laugh a little too. He never took his eyes off him the whole time, he was so… How didn’t everyone fawn at his feet all the time? If every alpha could see him right now, Wei Wuxian was sure that they would all agree that he was incredibly beautiful, breath-taking even.

But… he didn’t want anyone else to see this. Maybe it was selfish of him. With a smile, he gently grabbed the wrist that held the apple and dragged it over to his lips so he could take a bite as well.

Lan Zhan kept smiling even when he bit his lip. How had he never done this before? It felt like a miracle even though it was so simply explained by a mere spell. Now he was probably going to be frustrated when growing things because it took so long when he did it alone. He would have to try and build his magic reserves through more intense practice. It might exhaust him, but maybe it would make him improve faster.

He took his hand back and got another bite of the apple and looked back up at the tree. It was so vibrantly green and it smelled so sweet, he noticed his own scent sweetening a little more and getting a little stronger, maybe from the excitement he felt.

“Everyone can have apple pie,” he said, smiling and laughing again. “Apple pie in March.”

“Apple pie sounds good,” Wei Wuxian replied. He looked down at the remains of the apple briefly and then back to Lan Zhan. He was still smiling, laughing. It was the most wonderful sight in the world. From this close, he got a deep inhale of Lan Zhan’s sweetening scent. It was intoxicating, drawing him in, and Wei Wuxian found his gaze moving from his neck slowly up the slight sheen of apple juice on Lan Zhan’s lips. He wanted to…

“Lan Zhan,” he mumbled.

Before he knew what he was doing, Wei Wuxian reached up to take Lan Zhan’s cheeks in his hands, tilting his head towards him and kissing him softly.

The apple dropped from Lan Zhan’s hand. If it were any other time he would have panicked after that previous day of self-inspection, but his spirits were sky high and he didn’t have room to doubt or even _think._

He melted into the kiss, his hands running up Wei Wuxian’s chest and over his shoulders, one of them coming to rest at the side of his face. It was his first kiss and he was slammed with the new sensations on top of his giddy mood.

Wei Wuxian was _warm._ When he thought about kissing before he only focused on the lips. He never considered how nice it would be to feel their noses brush and their cheeks touch. He kissed Wei Wuxian a couple times, quickly growing addicted to the feeling.

Wei Wuxian felt relief wash over him as Lan Zhan kissed back. His skin was so soft, he felt and tasted amazing. He tucked a lock of hair behind Lan Zhan’s ear and took in as much of him as he could.

At least, until he heard the sound of the greenhouse door opening. Wei Wuxian flinched at the sound, pulling away from Lan Zhan’s lips and letting go of him as soon as he could as to not get caught.

Lan Zhan jumped away as he heard running footsteps at the other end of the greenhouse. Then he saw his friend, Su Ming, appear at the front of the row. Her eyes were wide with excitement.

“It’s _you!”_ she shouted, pointing at Lan Zhan.

“Su Ming,” Lan Zhan said, covering his mouth with his hand. He was sure he really was blushing like mad, he was even feeling a little lightheaded. His face tingled with the memory of Wei Wuxian against it.

Su Ming marched toward them, grinning. “Listen. I came out here to see if you were here and I saw Hunky Man kissing someone through the glass and I looked to see whose ass I was gonna kick! But I’m not kicking any asses because it’s _you!_ You aren’t wearing your ribbon but I don’t know any other omega as tall as you!”

“Su Ming,” Lan Zhan begged, his voice pained. He had told her about his plans on getting Wei Wuxian in bed and he couldn’t have him knowing that. Not from her, at least.

He walked quickly over to her and grabbed her wrist and started dragging her out while she kept talking. “Hey— is this why you were gone yesterday? Was it a success— wait, that apple tree is full, did you do that?? How— wait— bye Hunky Man!” she waved vigorously at Wei Wuxian as she was dragged through the door.

Wei Wuxian was left there, blinking quickly, wondering what on _Earth_ had just happened in these last few minutes? He’d… kissed Lan Zhan. A few times, actually. Then this mysterious omega girl barreled into the greenhouse, had called him _Hunky Man_ and then was dragged out of the door by Lan Zhan himself.

Huh.

All he could think to do was wait for Lan Zhan to come back. He _was_ going to come back, right? With a huff, he reached up to plucked one of the apples that had ripened as per Lan Zhan’s magic and took a bite out of it, sitting down underneath the tree. Maybe it had something to do with the magic or the sweetness of Lan Zhan’s lips still on his but he was sure that this was the best apple he’d ever eaten.

Lan Zhan pulled Su Ming into the main building and into the changing room just inside. He went to the faucet first and washed the dirt off of his hands.

“So how long has this been happening?” Su Ming asked.

“Five minutes,” Lan Zhan said, his tone annoyed.

Su Ming gasped. “This _just_ happened?”

Lan Zhan sighed and started undressing and throwing his dirty clothes in the basket. He got his white robes and put them on while he explained. “He did a magic transference spell and we made that tree grow back. It was…” He paused, shaking his head. “Amazing. It happened in… a minute or two.”

“And then he kissed you?”

Lan Zhan nodded.

Su Ming sighed. “That’s so romantic.”

Lan Zhan shot her a glare and she grinned. “What? It is!”

“Don’t ruin this,” Lan Zhan said. “It’s just a kiss.”

“Just a kiss,” Su Ming giggled. “Okay. You’re lucky I interrupted you! It would have been terrible if someone saw you having sex in the greenhouse.”

She had a point. If Wei Wuxian had pushed him against that tree Lan Zhan would have taken it further. He needed to be careful about that.

He tied his forehead ribbon on and then put his boots on and left the room, choosing to go through the main building to get to the front rather than go around and possibly run into Wei Wuxian again.

Su Ming, on the other hand, lingered behind. She walked with him for a little bit and then pretended she was going to go somewhere else once they left the residential section. But she just went out the side of the building and turned back to go to the greenhouse. She wanted to get some apples for her friends, and maybe get a closer look at Hunky Man. When she went inside, she took a basket from next to the door and walked down the row that led to the tree. It really was pretty in comparison to all the other dead ones.

Wei Wuxian looked up at Su Ming, blinking owlishly. He looked over her shoulder for any sign of Lan Zhan but he couldn't be seen. "Um hello," Wei Wuxian said. "Are you... Lan Zhan's friend? He's not with you?"

Su Ming smiled at him. "No," she said. She went up to the tree and started reaching on her tip toes to get some apples. "He's probably going back to his room to sulk. He's mad at me for ruining your moment." She giggled.

"Ah…” Wei Wuxian replied, cheeks a little pink. He cleared his throat and stood up again, reaching for the apples that Su Ming was struggling to grab and picked them from the tree for her.

"Ah! Thank you!" Su Ming held out her basket for Wei Wuxian to put the apples in. "I told him he was lucky I caught you guys." She winked at him. "Word of the wise, try not to kiss him in public."

Wei Wuxian laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck once he'd put the apples in the basket. "It... had been a bit of a spur of the moment thing," he said. "But I'll uh... reign it in next time. If there's a next time. Lan Zhan is so hard to read."

"It only takes a few years to learn," Su Ming joked. "And don't worry, there will be a next time. I'll take a wild guess and say if you take the initiative it'll be as soon as you want. But don't tell him I talked to you, he'll be grumpy for days."

Wei Wuxian mimed zipping his lips. He smiled at her and helped her pick a few more apples to put in her basket. "So... I should take that as a hint to go see him again tomorrow, huh?" he said.

Su Ming giggled. "Strike while the iron's hot, I always say." She shifted and pulled the basket tighter in her arms. "Thanks for the apples! It's usually months and months before we can have these. I just wanted to get some to take to my friends. I'm sure the cooks want most of these to do something with."

Wei Wuxian nodded again. "Lan Zhan mentioned apple pie, that sounds nice. Uh, thank you for the heads up anyway. I'll... go now. It was good to meet you!"

"Good luck!" Su Ming said with a laugh. "Not that you need it, Hunky Man."

Wei Wuxian waved to Su Ming as he walked out of the greenhouse, the taste of Lan Zhan still tingling on his lips. He had to call it quits for the day, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it. Not even when he went to his classes the next day, his thoughts were consumed by Lan Zhan. He could hardly focus on his class. Everything about Lan Zhan was just so intoxicating and he wanted to see him again.

That was how he found himself hauling himself up to Lan Zhan's window again that night. He took a deep breath once he balanced himself on the windowsill, letting the tentacles he'd used to lift himself dissipate. Then, he knocked on the window.

Lan Zhan had had a busy night so far. Ever since that kiss he'd been wound up and restless and as soon as he'd gotten back from his martial arts lessons, he had spent at least an hour in his nest masturbating and getting as much relief as he could. It wasn't enough, but it at least tired him out.

He bathed and crawled into bed and drifted to sleep -- until he was woken up by the knock. It took him a few seconds of waking up to realize what it was. The moonlight was bright enough that he didn't have to turn on any lights to see Wei Wuxian on the windowsill.

Lan Zhan quickly took down the barrier to let him in, feeling his heart start pounding. He had opted to keep his night robe on that night (sometimes he just slept in his underwear -- he hadn't worn pajamas in forever) but the sides weren't so tightly wrapped around him anymore, exposing more of his collarbones and the top of his chest.

He made a tactical decision and didn't fix it and stayed where he was, laying on his back. He knew Wei Wuxian liked him now, there was no reason to hesitate. He just hoped he wouldn't try to _talk_ first.

"Come get me," he whispered to himself as Wei Wuxian climbed through the window.

"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian said in a cheery tone and hopped into the room. He was so happy to see him again. Then, he properly drank in the sight of him, sprawled out in his night robe and looking good enough to eat. If Wei Wuxian was a man of littler patience and morals, he might have jumped him right then and there.

"I... haven't stopped thinking about... in the greenhouse the other day," he continued as he walked over and sat down beside him. It was then that he quickly remembered how he'd been scolded the last time he was in his room and kicked off his boots.

Lan Zhan wanted to take Wei Wuxian's patience and morals and chuck them out the window. He put the barrier back on the window and reached out to grab Wei Wuxian's sleeve, tugging him over. "Do it again," he said, his voice quiet and breathy.

Wei Wuxian swallowed roughly and nodded. He hadn't expected Lan Zhan to be so forward... but he wasn't complaining. As asked of him, he took hold of Lan Zhan's cheek as he leaned in to capture him in a deep kiss.

Lan Zhan shifted under him and reached up to grab hold of the front of Wei Wuxian's jacket. He kissed back like he had before, taking some time to get used to the movements involved.

Wei Wuxian leaned an elbow by his head as he moved over him to kiss him a bit better. He resisted the urge to run his hand over the exposed skin of his collar and the dip of his chest, fearing he might not be able to stop once he started. Instead, he focused on nibbling on his bottom lip and sliding his tongue in when his mouth opened up.

Lan Zhan felt giddy and tingly all over. He pushed the pillow he was resting on away from him so he could lay his head back flat on the bed. He flicked his tongue against Wei Wuxian's and then wrapped his lips around it and sucked. He wasn't completely sure how to kiss or make out since he'd never done it before, but he wasn't afraid to do whatever came to his mind and just try and see if it felt good.

And Wei Wuxian was enjoying every moment of it. He was none the wiser, having never done anything like this sort of thing before, but if it was going to be anyone, an omega like Lan Zhan was an appealing option. A male omega...

"I like this," he breathed when they parted for air. He kissed the side of Lan Zhan's mouth. "I like kissing you."

Lan Zhan let out a contented hum and kicked the blankets down the bed. He pulled Wei Wuxian to the side so he could push him onto his back and slide a leg over him to straddle him. His robe slipped over his shoulder as he did and he subtly made a show of pulling it back up before he slowly leaned down and kissed Wei Wuxian again.

Wei Wuxian had roved his eyes over Lan Zhan again before he was pulled into another kiss. He let out a soft groan into his mouth, gripping his waist and squeezing lightly. Gods, he had such a tiny waist. It would probably be very easy to pick him up and manhandle him.

Lan Zhan spread his legs more so he could properly sit on Wei Wuxian's hips. He could already pinpoint the faint scent of slick, even before his own scent started changing to betray his intense desire. It might be because he only had one flimsy layer of clothing to keep the slick scent contained since he wasn't wearing pants. His body squirmed as though he were trying to push into those hands but didn't know where to go.

He loved the feeling of Wei Wuxian's hands on his waist, he wanted him to squeeze more, grope him. The kisses grew messier and he bit Wei Wuxian's lip, not caring about it hurting as he took it between his own to suck noisily.

At that, Wei Wuxian let out a little whine. Lan Zhan was more aggressive than he anticipated and his aroused scent was wafting over to him. It made him a little panicked as he wondered just what Lan Zhan was thinking, what he _wanted_ from him.

"Um, Lan Zhan..." he said when they parted. He licked his lips, especially over where Lan Zhan had bitten. "Do you... like me?"

Lan Zhan paused and looked at Wei Wuxian, his breaths coming out hard. Did he _like_ him? What did that _mean?_ “I want you,” he whispered after a moment.

Wei Wuxian huffed, his cheeks pink. "That isn't... That's not the same thing. Because I... I like you, Lan Zhan. I want to get to know you and take you out, buy you things... I mean, this is nice. The kissing is really nice, I like this a lot. But I don't just... want to kiss all the time. I need to know if we're even remotely on the same page. If you'll... at least humour me. "

Lan Zhan’s heart dropped. _Dammit._ This was what he was afraid of. Why did they have to get emotions involved? He dropped his head on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder.

He couldn’t do it. A big part of him wanted to say yes and take advantage of Wei Wuxian, but he knew that he was also emotionally invested even if he didn’t want to be.

Entering a relationship with Wei Wuxian was likely to hurt him just as much. Did he want to do that to himself? And wouldn't he hate himself if he took advantage of someone's heart? Sure, he was a bitch like everyone and their mother had told him, but was he _really_ …?

He got off of Wei Wuxian and went to sit at the edge of the bed, pulling his robe more tightly around him. “You won’t want to date me,” he said.

“How can you say that if you won’t even give me the chance to find out?” Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head and sitting up on the bed, crossing his legs. “Look, we don’t have to put a label on it. You don’t even have to think of it as anything serious. But I just… want to hold your hand and… go out to eat somewhere together. If you want to keep kissing and stuff too, I would like that. I know that… a lot of alphas just want… _you know._ But I don’t… I don’t think I’m ready for that. I’ve never, um, done… _it_ before. If that at all changes your mind.”

Lan Zhan shook his head. His heart ached; he _wanted_ all of that stuff, but that scared him. He didn’t even know for sure if he wanted it. The idea of it was daunting. It took a lot to even hug people. Su Ming had tried to hold his hand once, not nearly in a romantic way, and he’d had to pull his hand away because it was so uncomfortable. It all came down to emotional vulnerability, something he wanted in theory but couldn’t stand in reality.

“If you aren’t going to fuck me then leave,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. He felt unstable, like he could tip in the wrong way any second.

Wei Wuxian looked disappointed. He fidgeted on the spot, looking off to one side. “I don’t want things to be hostile between us,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. I really do think you’re beautiful, the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen and I really, _really_ like kissing you. You smell _incredible_ and… You saw what we did together in the greenhouse. We could do amazing things together. But if… if sex is all you want from me, then I’ll go. But _please_ I don’t want to jeopardise a friendship or just… taking care of the plants for the good of everyone in this place because I’m not ready to have sex.”

Lan Zhan _really_ couldn’t handle this. All the compliments and daydreams. He was tipping to the wrong side, and he was going to fall off quick. He started shaking and hugged himself while taking a big breath. _Don’t cry, don’t cry, I’ll fucking kill you if you cry,_ he threatened himself.

“Then go,” he said, hating the way his voice shook. He would rather punch Wei Wuxian in the face than let him see him break down. He waved his hand and released the barrier on the window right next to the bed.

It felt like he’d only just got here. Wei Wuxian’s heart ached. It pained him that Lan Zhan didn’t seem to want anything from him but sex. Had that been the issue the other night too? Why he’d told him to fuck off?

“If you ever change your mind, I’ll be waiting for you,” he said as he got up off the bed and headed towards the window.

Lan Zhan stood up and left the room, going to his closet. He dug out some pajamas that he didn’t even remember wearing last and put them on, then put a day robe on followed by his fur cape.

He hoped Wei Wuxian never talked to him again. He would find another omega at some point and it was going to _hurt,_ but it was better to get it over with now than let himself get even more invested.

Lan Zhan could always just leave. His father was in the Capitol, he always said he would take Lan Zhan on a trip. Maybe it was time he jumped the nest for a little while. But for now, he just wanted his mother.


	4. Day at the Farm

Even despite what had happened in Lan Zhan’s room (was that place just cursed?), Wei Wuxian still couldn’t get him out of his mind. He gave him his space, distance, just to let him cool down from the incident.

A couple weeks later, he decided he couldn’t mope around anymore and went out to one of the nearby towns. Nothing eased things like a bit of alcohol. Plus, it would be nice to just have a browse around, get to know the area better.

He was strolling through when he caught a glimpse of familiar, long dark hair and white robes. Was that…? No, he’d never seen Lan Zhan out of campus before. There was someone with him… Su Ming?

Lan Zhan was staring intensely at a beautiful purple, blue and white hair ornament. It had flowers on it and little strings of beads that hung down. It was his favorite color scheme (as evidenced by his entire wardrobe, though he didn’t wear purple as much). It was just a little expensive, and he could easily pay for it with a month’s allowance. But he had already bought himself a new outfit the week before and he was going to spend the rest of his money for food and a pony ride at the farm they were going to that day. He would have to come back the next month and get it once he got his new allowance.

He heard Su Ming gasp. “Hunky Man?”

Lan Zhan bristled. He followed her gaze and stared at Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan had been avoiding him like the plague, though the alpha had been mercifully making that easy for him.

Su Ming ran over to him. “Wei Wuxian!” she said. “What are you doing out here? Isn’t it a pretty day? The snow’s all gone and it’s not freezing!”

“It is a nice day,” Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh. Su Ming was so bubbly, she reminded him a little of himself. He gave her his best grin. “I just came to explore. I want to get to know the area a little better, you know? And they have the _best_ wine here. What are you doing out here?”

“We’re going to a farm today!” Su Ming said. She glanced behind her where Lan Zhan was sulking. But he always sulked, so she didn’t pay it any mind. “The farmer invited Lan Zhan to bring his friends because they have so many baby animals this time of year.” She turned around. “Lan Zhan, can he come with us?”

Lan Zhan gave Wei Wuxian a cold stare. He had sort of gotten over everything in the past few weeks. It wasn’t a huge deal if someone didn’t want to fuck him, and it wasn’t a huge deal if he didn’t want to date anyone. It was fine. (It wasn’t completely fine, but he was okay enough to ignore it now.)

He nodded at Su Ming, who grinned and bounced in her spot as she turned back to Wei Wuxian. “Come on then!” she said, not even asking if he wanted to go.

Being this close to Lan Zhan again made his heart pound. As Wei Wuxian walked over, he found himself glancing down at his lips before quickly shifting back up to his eyes. “I’m honoured,” he said. Then, he let out a thoughtful hum as he looked down at the stall with the hair ornament that Lan Zhan had been looking so intently at. “What are you looking at?” He pointed towards the hair ornament. “That? It’s very pretty, isn’t it?”

Lan Zhan looked back at the ornament. “I like the colors,” he said.

Su Ming sighed dramatically. “You wear so much white, it makes you look like a widow!” she complained. “I think you should wear red sometimes!!” She took a different ornament from a stand and held it up to Lan Zhan’s head. “See? You’re so pretty in red! You should wear more colors every now and then!”

Lan Zhan glanced in the mirror they had at the stand. It made him look _different,_ made his eyes look more gold. “It’s gaudy,” he said.

Wei Wuxian smiled as he looked at Lan Zhan with the red hair piece. It _was_ cute, but the other one would look beautiful on him as well… Lan Zhan was just beautiful in general, really.

He fished out his money pouch and pulled it open to see how much money he had. “I think you’d look pretty in anything,” he said. “But if you like the other one, then…”

Lan Zhan did a double take when he noticed the money pouch. “No,” he said, giving Wei Wuxian an offended look. What was he doing? Trying to _buy_ him things? After Lan Zhan had all but threw him out the window _twice?_

“Aw, how sweet,” Su Ming mumbled.

“I’ll buy it next month,” Lan Zhan said. “I’ll have enough money then.”

“What if it’s been sold by then?” Wei Wuxian said, batting his hand. “Don’t worry, I _want_ to buy it for you. I was only going to spend the money on wine anyway.”

It would definitely make him a little out of pocket but if there was anything else he wanted or needed, he would just scrounge the money off Jiang Wanyin later. It was no big deal, not when he could be buying something for Lan Zhan. Something _pretty._ It made the butterflies in his stomach go crazy.

He ushered over the vendor and pointed out the hair ornament in question, smiling wide when he handed over the money for it. Then, he turned to Lan Zhan with it in his hands. “For you,” he said.

Lan Zhan could only watch indignantly while Wei Wuxian bought that hairpiece for him. How _dare_ he...

But it _was_ pretty...

Defeated, Lan Zhan took the ornament and turned back to the mirror to put it on the topknot he had put part of his hair in. It clipped right on, and the beads clinked softly above his ears... which were turning red.

Su Ming was grinning like she knew exactly what he was going through.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

It was absolutely worth it to see how beautiful he looked in it. Wei Wuxian’s own cheeks were a little red as he looked at Lan Zhan. He decided that if he had his way, he would see him in many more pretty things.

“It looks good on you,” he said.

Lan Zhan turned and gave him a hesitant look. Great, now he was _feeling_ things again.

“It really does,” Su Ming agreed. “You’re so pretty, Lan Zhan! I wish I was that pretty.”

“Be quiet,” Lan Zhan admonished.

Su Ming‘s face wasn’t anything show stopping, but her smile was beautiful enough to make heads turn. She still liked to compare herself to Lan Zhan, though. Maybe she was doing it because she knew it bothered him and she wanted to distract him. She worked in subtle ways like that sometimes.

He started walking down the street. They had been taking their time going through the city and checking out any places that caught their eye on the way to the farm.

“Ah, it pains me to hear you put yourself down like that, Su Ming,” Wei Wuxian said.

Flirting with girls had always come easy to him. Maybe it was because it didn’t feel like there was any weight behind it? He’d never felt that kind of way towards a girl… Only Lan Zhan.

“You’re plenty pretty. I’m surprised you’re not beating off the alphas from swarming you.”

Su Ming beamed and put her hands on her cheeks. “Stop,” she giggled. She skipped to catch up with Lan Zhan. “Really though, I talk too much, all the alphas I’ve dated said I never shut up. I’m too much for them, Lan Zhan says he’s not enough for them. We were destined to be friends.”

“Stop talking about me,” Lan Zhan said nervously. Su Ming was so open about personal things. He didn’t know how she just did that.

“That makes two of us then,” Wei Wuxian said, laughing as he caught up with them. “I’ve also been told I talk far too much and _far_ too much about my feelings for an alpha. But that’s stupid. I don’t mind, some day, someone will like me for me and it’s the same for you, got it?”

Su Ming rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “We’ll see,” she said.

She chatted the entire rest of the way to the farm. They paid a carriage to take them once they got out of the city. Lan Zhan enjoyed just sitting and watching the scenery pass by. He rarely got to leave Gusu. Usually when he left campus it was with Su Ming and they only stayed in the city. He was excited to get out and see the farm. The college traded with them frequently, so they were on good terms. The farmer’s son clearly had a crush on him, but he wasn’t interested. The alpha kept his distance, thankfully.

He felt restless when the farm came into view. He wanted to see the rabbits...

Wei Wuxian clambered to look out the window when the farm came into view. He hadn’t been to a place like this since he was very young, mostly because farmers usually had a dog. Oh Gods. Was there going to be a dog?

The farmer, a tall alpha woman with loose hair, came out to greet them.

“Welcome!” she said as they got out of the carriage. “It’s good to see you, Lan Zhan, Su Ming. And who’s this?” She stepped up to greet Wei Wuxian. “I’m Shi Qianmu. I’m the owner of this farm.”

Wei Wuxian bowed his head respectfully to Shi Qianmu and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Shi Qianmu, my name is Wei Wuxian.”

The alpha smiled and nodded at the omegas. “What do you want to see first?” she asked.

“Rabbits,” Lan Zhan answered immediately.

“I thought so. Come on, they’re out back.” Lan Zhan followed eagerly.

He was actually the reason they had started breeding rabbits. When he was a child he said that they should catch some wild rabbits by offering them food so that he could pet them. They didn’t do that, but they did buy some rabbits from down south and started breeding them to sell their meat and fur. It was quite profitable, apparently.

“Rabbits are so cute,” Wei Wuxian sighed. He looked at Lan Zhan as they walked. “Have you ever eaten rabbit before, Lan Zhan? They’re really nice roasted.”

Lan Zhan stopped walking. The look he gave Wei Wuxian was of horror and betrayal. Su Ming laughed loudly, apparently amused by his reaction.

He started walking again, still offended. The rabbit hutch was behind the house. It was a large run next to another one that held chickens. They had rabbits of so many colors, since they bought them from special breeders. They wouldn’t survive in the wild like that, but they were pretty.

Shi Qianmu unlocked the hutch to let the visitors in. “The babies are pretty friendly, since we’ve been hand feeding them.”

At the sound of their owner, rabbits started gradually hopping out of the little coop at the back of the run. Lan Zhan sat down in the grass and waited, his eyes brightening at the sight of them. He had worn old cotton robes today instead of silk ones, since he knew he would probably get dirty.

“Oh how cute!” Su Ming whispered as a tiny orange rabbit that could fit in her hand hopped out of the coop, doing a binky as it did. Lan Zhan smiled and held his hand out, waiting patiently for one of the rabbits to approach.

Oh, this was just precious. Wei Wuxian watched Lan Zhan for a little while as he looked at the baby rabbits with such fondness and affection twinkling in his eyes. It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. He couldn’t help but wonder if Lan Zhan would feel the same way with a baby of his own…

Before he knew what he was doing, a croon slipped out of him. He slapped his hand over his mouth and covered it with a cough. Embarrassing. He sat down on the grass not too far from Lan Zhan and coaxed over a few rabbits himself so he could pet them, avoiding eye contact in hopes that no one had heard him.

Su Ming had heard. She gave him a knowing look and scooted over to sit by him and whisper at him, “He doesn’t smile like that often so get a good look while you can.”

Lan Zhan heard her whispering, though he didn’t know what she was saying. He gave her a suspicious and questioning look, and she shook her head. “It’s nothing, mind your own business!”

Lan Zhan sighed and turned back to the rabbit that had come up to him. It was a large white one named Snowball. He had seen Snowball as a baby and he was his favorite rabbit at the farm. They used him as a breeding rabbit, so they hadn’t killed him yet. He seemed to like him too because he started climbing into his lap. He picked him up and held him in his arms, bouncing it gently and saying, “Hello Snowball. You are fat.”

How was he not supposed to be distracted? Lan Zhan was sat there, not too far from him, bouncing a fluffy, white bunny in his arms with this affectionate look on his face, and the hairpiece he’d bought for him on. Gods, he liked him so much.

“Could we… talk sometime, maybe? Privately?” Wei Wuxian whispered to Su Ming.

Su Ming sat up straighter. Talking privately usually meant it was something interesting. She nodded. Lan Zhan liked to watch the farmer work with her sheepdog at some point, and Su Ming usually wandered off around then since it didn’t interest her. It wouldn’t be too weird if she went to see the chickens or something with Wei Wuxian.

Lan Zhan held Snowball for a few minutes, petting his insanely soft fur. Eventually he set him down when he saw a baby rabbit coming up to him.

“Hello,” he murmured, holding out his hand. “I’m Lan Zhan. You are tiny. Can I pet you?”

He carefully ran a finger over the baby’s head. They really were friendly, since this one came to sit by his leg and closed its eyes while he scratched its head.

Wei Wuxian nodded back at her, then moved his gaze back over to Lan Zhan. He could watch him play with the bunnies all day.

Lan Zhan sat there for a while. It was about half an hour later before he finally looked at the others and they all left the hutch. He was ready to see some more hyper babies now. He led the way to the barn.

The puppies were about seven weeks old. Lan Zhan _loved_ puppies that age, they were so cute he couldn’t handle it. It was like they didn’t know quite how to use their little bodies yet. The puppies were in a fenced area inside the barn with straw around. He couldn’t see them, just little flicks of something tiny between the spaces.

The farmer’s son, Shi Taibai, smiled brightly when he saw Lan Zhan. “Hi Lan Zhan!” he said with a nervous laugh. He gripped the pitchfork he had tight. He saw Wei Wuxian and shrank ever so slightly, probably intimidated by his good looks. “Y-you want to see the puppies? Here, I’ll get you a blanket to sit on and I’ll let them out.”

Wei Wuxian bristled at the way the young man looked at Lan Zhan but he bristled even more at the sound of puppies. _Dogs._ His whole body stiffened and he was sure he was letting out a slightly distressed scent.

“Puppies…?” he asked. Then, he laughed nervously. “I think I’m uh… I’m going to go for a walk.”

Lan Zhan and Su Ming gave each other a confused look, but Lan Zhan nodded.

“Here you go,” Shi Taibai said.

He laid out the blanket and Lan Zhan and Su Ming sat down on it. The alpha politely waited until Wei Wuxian was gone before he went and let the puppies out. There were three of them, and they came barreling out at top speed. Lan Zhan laughed and Su Ming _squealed._

“Oh I can’t take it,” Su Ming cried. “They’re so cute! Hello babies!!”

She really was crying; tears fell from her eyes and she sobbed as a puppy hopped into her lap. Rabbits were calm and sweet, but Lan Zhan liked how excited puppies always were. They had endless energy, and it made Lan Zhan feel energized too. They grabbed his robes and tugged and he distracted them with toys that were laying around.

They played with the puppies for about ten minutes before Lan Zhan wanted to go watch the adult dogs work. He took one of the puppies with him to carry around.

“I guess I’ll go find Wei Wuxian,” Su Ming said. “Come find us when you’re done.”

Lan Zhan nodded and followed Shi Taibai out of the barn.

Su Ming left and looked around. Once she found him she trotted over to him. “Hey,” she said, “Lan Zhan is watching the sheepdogs do their tricks.”

Wei Wuxian had been nervously wringing his hands together the entire time he walked. He didn’t even like being the presence of dogs. It was reminding him why he never came to farms anymore. He jumped when Su Ming approached him but he tried to cover things up with a laugh. “Oh, hey, haha…” he said. “That’s nice. Uh… Lan Zhan likes dogs?”

“He likes all animals if they’re fluffy and he can pet them,” Su Ming said. She could relate. “I take it you’re not a fan?”

Wei Wuxian swallowed roughly. He didn’t want to seem weak, he didn’t want Su Ming to think he was a coward. “I’m… allergic,” he lied.

Su Ming nodded. She had a suspicion that it was a lie, but she didn’t mention it. “You wanted to ask me something earlier?” she asked.

“Oh! Yes!” Wei Wuxian said. He was more than happy to change the subject. “I want to talk to you about… Lan Zhan. If that’s okay. I don’t want you to say anything to him about it though. Can you promise me your word?”

Su Ming seriously considered it. As loudmouthed as she was, she didn’t spill secrets that weren’t hers to tell — not serious ones — but she had never kept anything from Lan Zhan... but she had a feeling this was important. She would have to come up with something believable to tell him instead if he asked.

“I promise,” she said.

Wei Wuxian let out a sigh of relief. “Okay,” he said. “So… I really like him. Um. Lan Zhan, that is. He’s pretty and talented and I just love the way his eyes light up when he looks at those bunnies or when we grew the apple tree together… I want to get to know him better. But… every time I say anything like that, he shuts me out. After the greenhouse, I… went to see him. We made out a little and then things started getting a bit more… well… _you know._ And I stopped him and I said that I wanted to do things… the right way, you know? I want to take him out to eat and buy him things and… court him properly. Before we… do anything else. Like that. He told me if we weren’t going to do _it_ then I had to get out. So I left. I don’t… want it to just be s-sex or whatever. I was just wondering, since you two are friends, if you… had any advice."

Su Ming nodded slowly, chewing on her bottom lip. She was quiet for a little while before she spoke.

“I’ve also been sworn to secrecy on some things but I’ll work around it,” she said. Really she just couldn’t talk about Lan Zhan’s plan to have sex with Wei Wuxian that he had weeks ago. “Lan Zhan is...”

She took a deep breath. Man, this was heavy stuff. “He has a hard time with... socializing? I’m his only friend, and that’s because my dad is a professor and we kind of grew up together. He’s... hurt my feelings. Quite a few times. And a lot of the time he doesn’t even know. But I just... learned to deal with it. He’s just so... _cold_ sometimes. You _really_ have to look to find his affection. Stuff like him waiting for you or sharing food or telling you random things about his day or his opinions — that’s all like him saying I love you, I trust you, I enjoy your presence.’ I haven’t seen him do that with anyone except me and his family. I think...”

Su Ming sighed, deep in thought. “I think he believes that it’s some kind of inherent flaw he has. And that it makes him unloveable. Which I can understand to an extent, most people would not put up with what I do. He probably hates it too, the times he realized he hurt my feelings he got so upset but he tried to hide it. He didn’t talk to me for a while but every time he went and bought me food to apologize. Anyway, I’m rambling. Sorry. Um... I think your problem was just... wanting to be lovey dovey? Because that implies that you want _him_ to be lovey dovey too and he... you know, doesn’t think he’s capable or whatever. The rule of reciprocity and all that. He’s mentioned before that if he tries dating anyone they’ll leave eventually. So... I think maybe he just... doesn’t want to get attached because he thinks it won’t last? He takes rejection _really_ hard. I think that’s why he’s so mean to people sometimes. Like telling you to get out. He doesn’t get enjoyment out of being mean, I know that. I think he just doesn’t want people to know how scared he is.”

She looked at Wei Wuxian. “Gods that didn’t help at all, did it? I’m just rambling again. I’m so bad at giving advice.”

Wei Wuxian walked along in thought for a moment, pondering on what Su Ming had said. What she’d told him made sense and seemed to line up with everything he knew about Lan Zhan. Sadly so.

“No, no, that was helpful, thank you… It just makes me a little sad that he thinks of himself that way,” he said, shaking his head. “How do I… deal with this, then? Do you think he’ll ever come around? I don’t… _care_ if he doesn’t want to reciprocate, I just want him to let _me_ do nice things for him, you know?”

Su Ming hummed thoughtfully and was quiet for a little while. “I think he’ll come around if you’re persistent,” she said eventually. “If he shows you his meanest side and you still stick around, maybe he’ll realize you won’t leave just because he can’t show affection very easily? But I dunno for sure. I’m trying to think about any times he and I have had like, really personal conversations about this kind of thing, how he feels about himself and all that, he’s always been _very_ uneasy about it. Like, he kind of freaks out. I don’t think he likes talking about personal things. He’s cried in front of me _once_ and he told me that if I tell anyone why he was crying he would kill me in my sleep. Obviously I won’t tell you what upset him, haha. But yeah, I would... maybe not bring up? The things that made him yell at you? Or maybe approach it gently and then change the subject if his hackles raise.”

She gave Wei Wuxian a curious look. “Earlier today you bought him that thing. I could tell he was unsure about it, but he was blushing. He didn’t look _mad,_ he just looked... kind of awkward. Probably because like... if he was mean to you last time he probably expected you to be weird around him? At least, I would feel awkward if I snapped at a guy and then he acted like nothing happened. But believe me, if Lan Zhan _really_ doesn’t like something you’ll know. He’s extremely stubborn. He can be childish like that, honestly. But yeah, just... I would say take it slow with the emotional things like that? And try not to dig too deep cause then he’ll lock you out again. Just, throw out the shovel and use a spoon, you know? Does that make sense?”

“That makes sense. It’s just hard for me to keep my mouth shut, I’ll admit. I’m sure you understand,” Wei Wuxian said. He laughed again and scratched the back of his neck. “I guess I’ll just… keep pestering him until he comes around. Even if he never wants to be with me, I’d just like to be his friend.”

Su Ming giggled. “I’m sure he will,” she said. “And hey, maybe you can be a bit mean back to him. Not _mean_ mean, but sometimes I like to mess with him and get under his skin if he’s being grumpy about something stupid. Being playful, you know? It usually gets him to come back, somehow.”

Wei Wuxian nodded. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Maybe things would work themselves out. Life would find a way if it was meant to be or whatever, right? “Thank you for your help,” he said.

“No problem,” Su Ming said. “I know he likes you enough, otherwise he wouldn’t have let you come with us or buy him that thing. I hope it works out.”

"Me too," Wei Wuxian replied. He did feel a sense of pride that Lan Zhan hadn't told him to go away and had reluctantly accepted his gift.

Lan Zhan was still watching Shi Qianmu and her dogs, his puppy nestled comfortably in his arms. They were incredibly talented and intelligent, it was amazing to see. He always wanted to get a dog and see if he could get it to follow all those commands, but he didn’t even know how to train them. And they’d probably make a mess of his room.

He could get a rabbit, though. Seeing Snowball again made him worried that they were going to kill it and get its pretty white fur. He could build a pen in his room next to his nest and grow some grass at the bottom. Maybe he could build a huge space in the big room on the other side of his floor. He wouldn’t have a problem feeding rabbits...

“You ready to go horseback riding?” Shi Qianmu asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. He would have to take the puppy back to the barn first.

“We gotta get a horse for your alpha,” Shi Qianmu said.

Lan Zhan bristled. “Not my alpha,” he said.

Shi Qianmu laughed. “That boy was watching you with those rabbits like you were a sunset over a lake. Put my boy to shame. I’m sure Taibai is put down. But okay, not your alpha.”

By the time they got over to the horse barn, Su Ming and Wei Wuxian were already there. Shi Qianmu wrangled one of her kids to come and get the horses ready. Lan Zhan and Su Ming had ponies, though they were still pretty tall. He liked the white one.

“Lan Zhan!” Su Ming called.

Wei Wuxian waved at him when he walked over as well, grinning ear to ear. Admittedly, he was excited to go horseback riding. It was a familiar practice when he and Jiang Wanyin went anywhere back home.

“Hey Lan Zhan!” he called as well.

Lan Zhan went into the barn and watched the horses being saddled. They were going to be let into one of the pastures to ride.

“Did the dogs do anything cool?” Su Ming asked.

“They knew all of their toys’ names,” Lan Zhan said, looking at her. “They could throw them or put them in a box or give them to me or each other if they were told to. They’re smart.”

“That’s cool,” Su Ming said with a hum. She didn’t really care much, but it wasn’t often that Lan Zhan got excited about things so she encouraged him.

When the horses were ready, Lan Zhan went up to the white pony and pet him. He was an old pony, but that just meant that he was mellow. Lan Zhan didn’t want one that was high strung. It looked like the big black one that Wei Wuxian got was a little more animated.

He put his hands on the saddle and tried to put his foot in the stirrup, but it was too high. He sighed and waited for Su Ming to get on her horse so he could take the bucket she used to get up.

Wei Wuxian noticed that Lan Zhan was struggling. He momentarily left his horse to walk over to him, looking him up and down. “You want a hand?” he asked.

Lan Zhan side-eyed him. “No,” he said rudely.

Su Ming laughed. “You’re so mean, Lan Zhan.”

Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and smirked at him. He had a feeling he’d turn him down if he asked, but it had been worth a shot to see if he’d co-operate. He crouched down to wrap his arms around Lan Zhan’s thighs, launching him into the air and depositing him on the saddle of the pony.

Lan Zhan scoffed and the pony shifted a little in annoyance. Lan Zhan didn’t blame him. He picked up the reins and gave Wei Wuxian a rude glance. He had picked him up so easily... his rude expression turned thoughtful and he eyed Wei Wuxian’s arms. Could he throw him onto the bed that easily?

Su Ming had climbed onto her pony as well and she was already walking it out into the pasture. Lan Zhan turned his eyes away and followed soon after.

It had been worth it. Wei Wuxian hummed to himself as he walked back over to the horse he’d selected and hopped on the saddle, quickly catching up with Su Ming and Lan Zhan as they trotted out into the distance.

Su Ming led the way and Lan Zhan followed. They started out at a walk for a little while before Su Ming got bored and bumped it up to a trot. Lan Zhan hated trotting because it bounced him all over the place, but he stood up in the stirrups a little to keep from bouncing off the horse.

Wei Wuxian built up to a steady trot as well. He had his eyes on Lan Zhan almost the entire time, enjoying watching him bounce up and down on the saddle as the pony trotted along. In fact, he had been so distracted by Lan Zhan, he barely had time to react when the horse seemed to trip over something and consequently flung Wei Wuxian off the horse entirely.

He hissed as he hit the ground, luckily not hitting his head for the way he managed to fold up as he fell. However, he definitely sprained his ankle judging by the way it hurt, and managed to slice his upper thigh on a sharp rock of some description. The slice stung and the blood was hot, dripping down his thigh.

Lan Zhan heard the thud and stopped his horse. He turned and saw Wei Wuxian on the ground. “Dammit,” he cursed under his breath. He had known in the back of his head that Wei Wuxian would go do something stupid like fall off the damn horse.

“Oh no!” Su Ming cried. She started to get off her horse at the same time as Lan Zhan did.

Wei Wuxian’s horse didn’t look very spooked, thankfully. “Are you hurt?” Su Ming asked.

Lan Zhan put his hand on her arm while he walked over to Wei Wuxian and knelt down. They both knew he was the superior healer between the two of them.

“What hurts?” he asked.

“Ah, um, I think I sprained my ankle,” Wei Wuxian said. He winced as he pushed himself up to sit upright, letting his legs fall open so Lan Zhan and Su Ming could see the wounds. He glanced at his bleeding thigh. “Oh, and that.”

Lan Zhan sighed heavily while he took off the boot Wei Wuxian had indicated. He wrapped his hands around the swollen ankle and started healing it. He almost wished Wei Wuxian had broken a bone so he could set it and hear him cry. Payback for putting him on that pony after he said no.

“Hey, don’t do that!” Su Ming ran over to get Wei Wuxian’s horse, which was messing with Lan Zhan’s pony’s saddlebag. usually they had some treats in there. Lan Zhan took the chance to complain. “We haven’t been riding for twenty minutes. You should have said if you don’t know how.”

“I can ride a horse,” Wei Wuxian said with a pout. He watched as Lan Zhan healed his ankle. Of course, most omegas learnt healing magic, right?

He gave him a slight grin. “But I was very distracted by how pretty you looked bouncing up and down on that pony.”

“I look prettier riding other things,” Lan Zhan mumbled.

He probably wouldn’t have said that out loud if he wasn’t so focused on his job, but he didn’t think too much about it. It was true. If Wei Wuxian had a problem with it then he should just not fall off the horse again or make comments like that.

Wei Wuxian took a shaky breath at that. Lan Zhan could be so bold… “I bet you do,” he said softly.

Lan Zhan gave him a look from under his eyelashes. He still felt bitter about Wei Wuxian rejecting him, but what could he do? He finished healing his ankle and then sat back. He could ask Wei Wuxian to take his pants off, or he could just stick his hand in the rip...

Wei Wuxian could see the way that Lan Zhan was eyeballing the cut on his thigh. He licked his lips nervously and met his gaze. “Um, do you want me to take them off?” he asked.

Lan Zhan’s eyes fell to Wei Wuxian’s lips and he subconsciously licked his own before looking down at the bleeding cut. “It would make this easier,” he said. “But I can squeeze my hand through the rip if you want.”

“It’s okay, I can…” Wei Wuxian said before lifting up his jacket to unlace his pants. He wriggled them down his hips and hissed when the fabric slid over the cut. But he successfully managed to remove the offending pants, setting them to one side, leaving him in just his underwear.

Lan Zhan eyed Wei Wuxian’s crotch hungrily, running his bottom lip through his teeth and breathing in through his nose. He couldn’t see as much as he would have liked, but he had a good imagination.

So close and yet so far away.

He had to rip his gaze back to the wound and focus. He put his hands around the cut, not wanting to get it dirty by touching it directly. It took a little longer, but only about a minute. He stayed until the scar had faded to almost nothing. He wasn’t as good as his mother, who could make scars disappear completely, but he was still pretty good. When he was done he wiped his bloody hand off on Wei Wuxian’s pants before tossing them at him and going back to his pony.

Of course, Wei Wuxian had noticed the way that he’d looked down at his crotch. He couldn’t be surprised, not when he knew that Lan Zhan wanted to have sex with him anyway, but it was still a lot to take in seeing him openly ogle him like that.

He got up from the ground, impressed at how well he felt now. Lan Zhan was a good healer. He took the pants that Lan Zhan had thrown at him and put them back on along with his abandoned boots.

“You’re his knight in shining armor!” Su Ming sang as Lan Zhan grabbed the saddle again. He was determined to get on it himself this time.

“Anything to have Lan Zhan’s hands all over me,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

“Hey, Wei Wuxian! Come help me up!” Su Ming whined unashamedly.

Wei Wuxian walked over to Su Ming and grabbed her by the thighs like he had done for Lan Zhan and helped her up onto the pony.

“Yay! Hey you’re strong—“ Su Ming sang as she was lifted onto the pony.

Lan Zhan aggressively ignored it and shoved his foot in his pony’s stirrup. He was quite flexible so he could easily lift his leg up high enough to get his foot in, it was the lifting himself up part that was challenging. The pony was patient with him while he grabbed its mane and the saddle and pulled, groaning a bit with frustration.

Wei Wuxian turned around to look at Lan Zhan as soon as Su Ming was back on her pony. He was clearly struggling and was likely going to tell him no if he asked if he wanted any help. There was only one thing to do. He strode for and helped Lan Zhan push his way up onto the pony, grinning at him as he did.

“Thank you for healing me."

Lan Zhan wasn’t surprised but he was still irked. “Do I need to ride behind you or can you multitask this time?” he asked as he situated himself.

“Don’t know, maybe I’ll fall off again if it means you’re going to eyeball me like you did earlier,” Wei Wuxian teased with a little laugh.

Lan Zhan gave Wei Wuxian a once-over. “You don’t have to go to such lengths,” he said quietly. “In case you forgot.”

“I like teasing you, as it so happens,” Wei Wuxian replied, smirking up at him before he walked back over to his horse.

Lan Zhan sighed heavily. He didn’t understand why Wei Wuxian didn’t just bend him over if he was so enamored. All of the games were unnecessary.

Wei Wuxian pulled himself back up onto his horse and forced himself to pay a little more attention to where he was going rather than watching Lan Zhan the whole time.

Thankfully, Wei Wuxian didn’t cause anymore trouble for the rest of the ride. Lan Zhan enjoyed himself and they rode around the pasture for about an hour before coming back. Lan Zhan went to go see the puppies for another five minutes and kiss them goodbye before going back to the rabbit pen.

He pouted at them. “I want a _baby,”_ he whined quietly as he looked at the tiny bunnies hopping around.

He would take a bunny or a puppy or a lamb or a goat kid, he wanted _something._ His uncle would probably kill him... but he didn’t have to know, right? The only thing stopping him was money.

Wei Wuxian’s heart hammered in his chest when Lan Zhan said that. He’d heard him. And of course, he knew that he meant a baby _bunny_ but still… He couldn’t help but imagine Lan Zhan pregnant, stomach round and full with a baby. He’d look even more beautiful with that pregnancy glow…

“I could help with that,” he mumbled.

“Could you even afford one after what you did this morning?” Lan Zhan mumbled back at the same time that Su Ming giggled.

“Was that a double meaning?” she asked Wei Wuxian.

“No it wasn’t,” Lan Zhan quickly answered for him, his tone mean. “He knows he’d have to man up first.”

Su Ming’s mouth dropped open. “Lan Zhan, you’re so mean!”

Lan Zhan didn’t respond to that. He knew he was being mean; he hadn’t liked Wei Wuxian teasing him earlier. He figured he could bite back and either Wei Wuxian would fuck him or stop bugging him.

Wei Wuxian hummed. Two could play at that game. “Are you sure you’d really want to be tied down to me for life just for that?”

“I never said that,” Lan Zhan said.

He stared at Snowball. He wondered how long that one had before it was killed.

“Besides, the kid would probably run away first chance it got,” he mumbled as he pushed away from the pen and walked over to Shi Qianmu, who was leaning against the house and waiting for them to finish.

“What are your plans for Snowball?” he asked.

“Why, you looking to buy him?”

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip. “I don’t have enough money right now,” he said.

Shi Qianmu crossed her arms. “We’re planning on getting another litter from him,” she said. “If you can get enough before next year he’s yours. It’ll be the price of his meat and hide together, about a hundred coins.”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Thank you for letting us come today,” he said. He took some money for the horseback rides and gave it to her.

“It’s always a pleasure,” she said with a charming smile.

Wei Wuxian moved over to respectfully bow his head towards Shi Qianmu. “Thank you for letting me come, as well. You didn’t have to do that.”

Shi Qianmu nodded at him. “I’d say you’re a pretty respectable man,” she said, “no reason to turn you down. Anyway, you guys come back whenever you want, alright? We’ll keep Snowball away from the chopping block for now. Let us know.”

Lan Zhan bowed to her. “Thank you,” he said.

The carriage was still waiting for them at the front and he got the horse hooked back on when they approached. Lan Zhan would need to find a way to scrounge up some money soon. He didn’t want to ask his uncle for extra allowance, because there was no telling what he would say. He was deep in thought for the rest of the way back, hooked on the idea of getting a rabbit of his own. He wanted to get a baby as well as Snowball, but he didn’t know what that would cost him.

“Are you really going to buy a rabbit?” Wei Wuxian asked as they got back inside the carriage. His conjuration magic wasn’t good enough to make something like a rabbit that was realistic yet but he would certainly work on it.

Lan Zhan nodded. “I will have Gege build me a pen,” he said, still gazing out the window. “I can grow some grass in it.” Su Ming smiled at Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan was clearly excited about it since he was willing to tell Wei Wuxian his plans without prompting.

“Hmm, you have to let me come visit and play with them then,” Wei Wuxian replied. He mostly just wanted to see Lan Zhan holding a little fluffy bunny with the stars in his eyes again. It really was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

“Maybe if you help build the pen,” Lan Zhan said thoughtfully. He could make him build it all. His brother could do it easily though, since his magic helped with that sort of thing.

Lan Zhan spent the next day in his room doing nothing but reading and napping, and the day after that was Monday and he was back to work. That week he spent his mornings helping the cooks to change up his routine a little, and he went to work in the greenhouse in the afternoons. He was worried at first that Wei Wuxian would start bugging him endlessly, but thankfully he didn’t have to see him for a few days.

His presence was like fuel on Lan Zhan’s fire. He swore if Wei Wuxian kept ruffling his feathers he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from jumping him. He probably would be able to, he wasn’t like _that,_ but he really was frustrated.

Especially after getting a look at that package Wei Wuxian had. He found himself imagining what it would look like unwrapped about once per day. It wasn’t often that thoughts like that really affected him physically, but he had to keep it under control this time. He had spent weeks getting a break from these kinds of thoughts, so it was annoying that Wei Wuxian could so easily worm his way back into his head.


	5. Drunk Lan Zhan

Wei Wuxian’s heart still fluttered every time he thought about Lan Zhan, whether he thought about him in that pretty little hair piece he’d bought, or looking so mesmerised and fond with the bunnies, even when he scowled at him after he’d put him up on that pony… All forms of Lan Zhan were cute.

That’s how he found himself heading back to the greenhouse outside of class, hoping to catch Lan Zhan there. With any luck, he could hold his hand again as he helped him channel magical energy into the plants.

Lan Zhan was sitting in front of a potato plant, his hands dirty. He looked over when he heard the door open and sighed. _Here we go._

"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian cooed. He strolled on over to him and crouched down beside him. "How's things going? You need a bit of my magic touch to speed things along?"

Lan Zhan gave him a hesitant look. He had been practicing hard for the past few weeks. His magic wasn’t any stronger yet, but he didn’t expect it to be. He didn’t want to rely on Wei Wuxian, but... “You don’t have to,” he said.

"I want to," Wei Wuxian told him with a big smile. He reached out and took Lan Zhan's hand in his. He liked holding his hand like this.

Lan Zhan’s eyes snapped to his hand. His instinct was to yank his hand away and he started to but stopped. He didn’t like holding hands — it was so awkward and it made him feel weird. He gave Wei Wuxian a nervous look.

Wei Wuxian idly rubbed his thumb over Lan Zhan's hand before he took a deep breath and focused his magical energy in order to pump it through Lan Zhan and increase his magical flow.

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath. The sudden influx of magic after he was already nervous made his anxiety spike. His hand shook in Wei Wuxian’s and his chest hurt, and he yanked his hand in to curl up against his chest, Wei Wuxian’s still wrapped around it. His breaths were shaky and shallow but he focused on pushing the overwhelming magic out of him and into the potato plant. The stalks grew taller and the leaves grew wider and a darker green. Lan Zhan’s eyes were wide as he watched.

It was worth it to see the light in Lan Zhan's eyes. Wei Wuxian didn't even look at the plant, he was drawn to Lan Zhan himself.

"Wow."

Lan Zhan stopped when the plant was fully grown and he squirmed his hand out of Wei Wuxian’s. He stood up and went to get a couple baskets from the front of the greenhouse. Setting them down on the wooden walkway, he grabbed one and knelt down in front of the plant and got his little shovel to dig into the ground and pull up the entire plant. The potatoes were big and healthy looking. He started taking them and setting them in the basket.

"I wish you guys could grow lotus pods here," Wei Wuxian hummed. He moved to help Lan Zhan put the potatoes in the basket. "My jiejie makes the best Lotus Rib Soup ever and I do miss it while I'm here."

Lan Zhan furrowed his brow and paused. He liked learning about plants, but unfortunately there weren’t a lot of books on plants at the college. “What are lotus pods?” he asked.

"You've never had a lotus pod? Oh my Gods. You have to come back to Yunmeng with me sometime and we can go picking them," Wei Wuxian said. He laughed a little. "But you know, even if Gusu food is bland, you do have the best wine. I don't know how you're not drunk all the time."

Lan Zhan stared at the potato plant for a few seconds, his expression confused. He continued picking the potatoes off and setting them in the basket before he moved to the next potato plant to sit in front of it. He wanted to get at least a hundred potatoes for the cooks, so they could do something interesting with them. They stayed good for a while too.

“Alcohol is prohibited on campus,” he said.

"Okay well you can always go out of campus and drink," Wei Wuxian replied. He sighed dramatically. "Don't you ever go and do that? You and Su Ming?"

Lan Zhan shook his head. He went ahead and started working on the next plant, not wanting to ask Wei Wuxian to help. He and Su Ming couldn’t afford to go drink. They had to be on the lookout when they were in public. If there were more omegas for them to be with they might be safe, but not with just the two of them.

“What is it like?” he asked.

"You've never had it? Do you want to? It's really good! It tastes good and makes you feel... you know, happier!" Wei Wuxian said. He followed after him to help him pump magic into the plants. "You could come into the city with me. You don't have to drink much."

Lan Zhan considered it. He _was_ curious, but it also made him nervous. “How does it make you happy? And why does it make alphas act... scary?” His voice quieted at the end.

These were questions he had always wanted to ask his mother, but the topic of alcohol was weird among his family. He didn’t want them to think he was curious about it.

"I don't know, I guess you just let loose a little, you know? Stop worrying about stuff so much," Wei Wuxian tried to explain. He shrugged his shoulders.

Lan Zhan pulled his hands away when the second plant was fully grown, then went about pulling it up and taking off the potatoes. “It makes them less afraid of being caught,” he said quietly.

Alphas had always scared him easily, but alcohol made it worse. It was probably because the few experiences he had with drunk alphas were... not good ones. He wondered what Wei Wuxian would be like. He couldn’t imagine him acting like that, especially after the scene in which they met.

"It takes a lot to get me drunk. But I've only ever heard good things. If anything, it just makes me even more of an idiot than I already am haha," Wei Wuxian said. He went to help Lan Zhan put the potatoes in the basket again.

"But if you wanted to try it, I'm here to supervise you." He chuckled and nudged his side. "You saw the way I beat up those alphas who harassed you back when I first came here. Any alpha so much as breathes on you when you don't want them to and I'll tear them limb from limb, okay?"

Wei Wuxian must have read his mind. Lan Zhan supposed be wasn’t being subtle. He was surprised to find that he did trust him. He didn’t even know Wei Wuxian very well, but he trusted him. If he wanted to try alcohol, that was probably the alpha to do it with. It didn’t make them _friends._ He would just be... using Wei Wuxian’s intimidating presence for his own purposes.

“When are your classes done on Friday?” he asked.

"Three. Did you want to go into the city then? We could grab something to eat and get a jar of wine to share while we're there. You'll need to take it easy if you're not used to it," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan nodded. It would be interesting to see what alcohol actually did and why everyone liked it so much. He left a little potato back in the holes left by the plants and covered it with soil before moving onto the next plant. He would work on growing those back later.

Wei Wuxian grinned wide. It was practically a date. He'd said to Lan Zhan that he wanted to take him out to eat and this was close enough.

Lan Zhan stayed mostly quiet for the rest of the afternoon. He let Wei Wuxian help him grow more plants, and he collected a lot of potatoes and carrots and also grew more fruits and herbs. They washed them in the sink and carried wheelbarrows of baskets of food to the cooks, who all nearly fainted at the sight.

He got used to Wei Wuxian’s presence. He still didn’t like holding his hand, though. He learned to tune out what he was saying after a while.

On Friday, Lan Zhan took the chance to dress up. He didn’t like to dress up most of the time because it made him nervous — that was usually when alphas would annoy or harass him. But he would have Wei Wuxian keeping an eye on them so he didn’t have to worry. It made him a little excited because he enjoyed making himself pretty.

He put on his set of robes that were made of white silk and had thick bands of lavender on the edges. It was relatively warm outside (to his standards, at least) so he only wore that outer layer with a pair of thin pants and a white silk dudou underneath. He put on his new hair ornament which matched his outfit now with the little blue and purple features on the white.

When he looked at himself in the mirror, he looked dainty and expensive. He smiled a little. He would dress like this every day if he knew he wouldn’t get harassed. He got his money pouch and cloth he could use to cover his outfit when he ate and set them in a white satchel he wore across his body. He didn’t have a lot of money, but it would pay for his meal at least. He sat by the window and put his chin on his hand while he watched below and waited for Wei Wuxian to appear.

It was the middle of the day and there were students walking around. There was no way he could conspicuously go up to the window even when he saw Lan Zhan waiting there. Wei Wuxian looked up at him and smiled, waving at him from the ground. He’d made an effort to look presentable as well, putting his hair half-up and choosing some of his nicer clothes. When their eyes met, Wei Wuxian made a come-hither motion.

Lan Zhan moved away from the window and made his way down the building. He noticed people watching when he walked out and he scowled at them. _Mind your own business,_ he wanted to say.

“Hey, Lan Zhan. You look pretty,” Wei Wuxian said, looking Lan Zhan up and down with a smile. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan said. He turned to get a better look at Wei Wuxian. He liked those pants. They were form fitting. How did they look from the back?

Wei Wuxian chuckled and started walking to the gates. He walked a little ahead at first, so Lan Zhan could get and all-around view if he so pleased.

Lan Zhan took advantage of the opportunity. Wei Wuxian _did_ have a nice ass. He really should stop checking him out, since it always made him frustrated... but he couldn’t get himself to stop when he had the chance.

The ride to the city was peaceful. Lan Zhan liked looking at the trees and listening to the spring wildlife. The breeze was chilly but the sun was bright and kept him warm.

“I can’t believe you’ve never drunk alcohol before. It’s like… a pastime back in Yunmeng. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, it’s a pastime for _me_ at the very least,” Wei Wuxian rambled as they rode.

“It’s not safe,” Lan Zhan said. He had heard too many stories and experienced too many things to do something so reckless. He could have always just asked his brother to accompany him, but again, the topic of alcohol was weird in his family.

That made Wei Wuxian feel a little sad. There was no way he could imagine what it was like to be an omega, what kind of dangers he would face. Would he even be the same person? “I’m sorry alphas are such assholes,” Wei Wuxian said softly. “No one should have to feel like that.”

Lan Zhan was quiet for a little while. He had grown up with that fear, it had been instilled in him since a young age. It was taught to him by his family and he learned himself when he got older. Even alpha women got scared sometimes, which made him feel a little better.

“I mean it though. Any alpha says anything to you or does something you don’t like, just tell me. No questions asked, I’ll go and kick their ass,” Wei Wuxian continued.

Lan Zhan nodded. He appreciated the gesture. He might take him up on it at some point. Usually by this point in the semester, the alphas knew better than to mess with him. But some still annoyed him in ways that couldn’t be punished, like leering at him. It would be like having a guard dog to send after them.

Wei Wuxian felt relieved that Lan Zhan at least trusted him to look after him. That was step one in being a good alpha, right? He had a deep, primal urge to keep Lan Zhan safe and ward off any other alphas who might look at him too long.

It didn’t take much longer for them to arrive in the city. Wei Wuxian hummed as he looked around at the different food places that they passed. What did he want to eat? Well, he was supposed to be treating Lan Zhan, wasn’t he?

“What do you want to eat?” he asked.

Lan Zhan walked around for a while before he decided and went into a shop. He liked this place because they had a good roasted duck. He didn’t eat meat very often, and he was pretty picky about it. The owners knew him and let him pick where he wanted to sit. He chose a seat outside, since they had a little spot next to the river, where on the other side there was a small park. It was too early in the spring for the flowers to really start blooming, but the grass was turning green again.

Wei Wuxian had noticed the way people looked at him when he walked in with Lan Zhan. Well, they were free to make their own assumptions. Admittedly, he felt a brush of pride to be by his side and sharing a table with him. He was quick to order when he got the chance, picking out the spiciest dish they had.

“I like spending time with you,” he said.

Lan Zhan turned to look at Wei Wuxian, feeling curious. He still didn’t understand why he was so... determined. He supposed he was pretty to look at, so that was one reason an alpha might hang around him... even if he didn’t want to fuck him. Which confused Lan Zhan even more. What alpha wasn’t ‘ready’ to have sex? It almost sounded like an excuse so he didn’t have to admit not being attracted to him like that.

Wei Wuxian had his elbow on the table, leaning his cheek on his palm and looking at him with a fond expression. He wished he could kiss him again, it made his lips tingle just thinking about the last time, but he knew that he could ask for that when he wasn’t ready to give him any more than that.

“We’ll get the wine after we eat. It’s better to drink alcohol with something in your stomach,” he said.

Lan Zhan nodded. He shifted uncomfortably under Wei Wuxian’s gaze. It was so _affectionate_ and he didn’t know how to take it. He decided to just ignore him as much as possible. When the food arrived he ate silently, staring at the river and the people walking through the park on the other side.

He tried not to think too much about Wei Wuxian but it was difficult while he was being stared at. He didn’t _understand_ any of this. It was frustrating in more ways than one. It was like he was waiting for the punchline. The affection made him uncomfortable and he couldn’t pinpoint why.

When he was finished eating, he set some coins on the table and folded up his cloth to put back in his bag. He hoped he could figure this out soon.

Wei Wuxian finished his meal shortly after Lan Zhan did. Once everything was paid for, they got up from their seats and Wei Wuxian guided Lan Zhan over to get their next target: Emperor’s Smile. He ordered a jar for them to share, to start things off easy.

“It’s called Emperor’s Smile,” Wei Wuxian told him as he poured him a cup.

The place that sold the famous wine was nice and cozy. The sun was low on the horizon and shops were lighting up with lanterns already. This one had a fireplace. Lan Zhan took the cup and walked to the back corner of the room and sat down with his back to the wall. He looked down at the dark liquid for a minute. It didn’t smell that good. But he had never liked the smell of alcohol.

“Just take it easy, okay? You don’t have to do what I do,” Wei Wuxian said as he sat down with him. He poured himself a cup as well but he downed the whole thing in one go, then licked his lips.

Lan Zhan carefully took a sip and grimaced. It tasted weird. He didn’t know if he would be able to just sip on it all evening. Why couldn’t he just get it over with? He brought the cup to his lips and drank it all, making a disgusted face.

“It’s gross,” he said.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian said in mock offense, putting a hand over his heart. “How can you say something so cruel? You know, this is the best wine in the world.”

Lan Zhan didn’t respond to that. He was getting extremely sleepy... was this normal? He wanted to go to bed _right now._ He saw a comfortable looking chair by the fireplace and he stood up, aiming to go curl up and sleep. He didn’t get very far though, since about two steps in he blacked out.

Wei Wuxian leapt up and caught Lan Zhan in his arms as he noticed him about to fall. He blinked quickly and looked down at his unconscious body. Oh no. What had happened? Did it have something to do with the wine?

“Lan Zhan?” he called out. “H-Hey, Lan Zhan. Are you okay?”

Wei Wuxian worried at first that maybe he’d somehow managed to kill Lan Zhan. But then he heard a soft snore and his worries were quelled. He had just… fallen asleep? And didn’t seem to be waking up.

With a sigh, he carried him in his arms as he sat back down on the floor beside the low table and rested him gently in his lap, his head buried against his thigh. It was impossible not to spend a few minutes just watching his pretty sleeping face and carding his fingers through his hair. He’d never seen him at peace like this before. Hopefully, he was okay though.

Lan Zhan woke up about half an hour later. He felt warm and comfortable, and he was surrounded by a very nice scent. At first he thought it was his brother’s, but when he opened his eyes he saw that it was Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian had reached for the wine and had a few more cups before he heard and felt Lan Zhan stirring. “Lan Zhan?” he asked.

Lan Zhan blinked a few times. Why was he in Wei Wuxian’s lap? Well, it seemed like a comfortable place to be. He liked his scent. He sat up and turned to look at his lap thoughtfully, then shuffled over to sit in it properly and leaned on Wei Wuxian, resting his cheek on his shoulder and nosing at his neck.

“Hold,” he demanded.

Wei Wuxian blinked owlishly. Was he being asked to… be cuddled? He smiled at him and wrapped his arms around him, squeezing his waist lightly.

“Like this?” he asked.

A loud purr started up in Lan Zhan’s chest and he closed his eyes. He felt secure and comfortable here.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t get ahead of himself. As much as he liked this, he knew it wasn’t right.

“Lan Zhan?” he asked. “Are you drunk?”

“No,” Lan Zhan said.

He wasn’t drunk, he knew that. He felt completely normal, just comfortable. He would be acting crazy if he was drunk!

“I’m having a hard time believing you’d want to cuddle with me if you weren’t drunk,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum. “Not that I’m complaining.”

That annoyed Lan Zhan. He reached up to put his finger on Wei Wuxian’s lips. “Quiet,” he said.

Wei Wuxian took Lan Zhan’s wrist and kissed the finger he’d pressed against his lips, then watched for his reaction curiously.

Lan Zhan pulled his hand down to stare at his finger for a moment. Then he sat up and looked at Wei Wuxian. Taking his cheeks in his hands, he leaned in and gave him a sloppy kiss.

Wei Wuxian made a small noise in the back of his throat. His first instinct was to kiss back and he did for a moment before he slowly pried himself off Lan Zhan.

“Lan Zhan…” he whispered.

Lan Zhan followed him, sliding his arms over Wei Wuxian’s shoulders and seeking out his lips again. He smelled so good...

“Hey, hey… Lan Zhan. We’re public,” Wei Wuxian told him. He held Lan Zhan’s cheeks to keep him at bay. He knew his sober self wouldn’t approve of this.

Lan Zhan scowled at the other patrons in the place. He noticed one guy in particular was staring at him quite intensely and he couldn’t have that.

He crawled out of Wei Wuxian’s lap and stumbled to his feet, then stormed over to the alpha. “Stop looking at me,” he said.

The guy raised an eyebrow. “Looking’s a crime now, huh?” he said.

Lan Zhan glared and leaned forward, his hands on his hips. “Go away!”

“Whoa, whoa, hey! Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian got up to follow him, quickly wrapping his arms around him and dragging him back. “Come on, let’s sit back down.”

Lan Zhan fought weakly against the hold. “No,” he said. He didn’t want to be in public anymore if Wei Wuxian wouldn’t kiss him because of that.

Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and picked Lan Zhan up off his feet so he could carry him back to their table. “We’ll get kicked out if you keep behaving like this.”

“Take me somewhere else,” Lan Zhan countered. He clung to Wei Wuxian and refused to let go. “My room.”

“It’s a long walk back to campus. Maybe you should have some water first?” Wei Wuxian suggested, cocking an eyebrow.

“I want you,” Lan Zhan said. He shifted to straddle Wei Wuxian and leaned in to kiss him.

Wei Wuxian gave him a quick peck in hopes it might soothe him, then laughed a little. “You’re absolutely insatiable, you know.”

Lan Zhan ignored Wei Wuxian and kissed him again, this time opening his mouth and licking over his lips.

It was an internal struggle. Wei Wuxian knew that he shouldn’t be kissing Lan Zhan while he was obviously drunk (who got drunk on one cup of wine anyway?) but on the other hand, he tasted so good… He indulged him for a moment before pulling away again.

“Lan Zhan,” he said. “Why are you kissing me?”

Lan Zhan pondered over the question for a few seconds before he said, “I want to. Feels good.“

Well, it seemed that drunk Lan Zhan was a little more honest than his sober self. “Do you like me?” Wei Wuxian asked.

That was a harder question. Lan Zhan looked away and frowned. Did he like Wei Wuxian? He guessed so... He nodded.

Wei Wuxian’s heart hammered. Lan Zhan liked him… He wasn’t sure what to do with this information. He licked his lips nervously. “I like you too,” he said.

Lan Zhan pouted at Wei Wuxian. “No you don’t,” he argued. “You won’t fuck me.”

“There’s more to liking someone than having sex with them,” Wei Wuxian tried to rationalise. “I just… want sex to be with someone special, you know? I want to have sex with someone who wants to be my mate.”

_Ouch._ Lan Zhan stared at Wei Wuxian with wide eyes that started to water. His face scrunched up as fat tears fell onto his cheeks and he turned away to rub at them.

Wei Wuxian’s heart stopped when he saw the tears build up in Lan Zhan’s eyes. Oh no. What had he done? He quickly reached up to cup his cheeks and wipe away the tears with his thumbs.

“Hey, hey, hey… Don’t cry. Please. Why are you crying?” he said.

Lan Zhan swatted Wei Wuxian’s hands away and sobbed, quiet high pitched sounds accompanying it. He was so _sad_ and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“Lan Zhan…” Wei Wuxian said softly. He frowned. “I didn’t meant to upset you. Whatever I said, I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not!” Lan Zhan cried.

He rubbed his palms into his eyes. He had to get away from here. He crawled out of Wei Wuxian’s lap again and carefully stood up before he ran out of the building.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian called out. He huffed and slammed some money down on the table for the wine and then chased out after him.

It was twilight now, and the lanterns gave everything a pretty orange atmosphere against the blue. Lan Zhan ran down the street and stopped when bright colors caught his eye. It was his favorite store that sold traditional robes. He went inside and looked around, still wiping his eyes.

It took Wei Wuxian a moment to find Lan Zhan but that swishing of long dark hair and pretty robes was unmissable. “Lan Zhan…” he said as he walked in and approached him.

Lan Zhan ignored him. He looked at all of the robes, going over to feel some of them. He found one that was light green and he touched it. He liked that one. But he had already bought an outfit that month.

He went more towards the back of the shop where they held the more personal clothing items. He looked at some tall black stockings. They were soft and made of some kind of wool. It reminded him of his soft fur blanket in his nest. He wanted to have them. He took them to the counter and said, “I want these.”

The shopkeeper smiled. “Shopping makes everything better, doesn’t it? That’ll be ten coins.”

Oh... money. Lan Zhan took his money pouch out and dumped the coins on the counter. He pointed at each while he counted seven. He pouted at them. That wasn’t enough...

Wei Wuxian sighed. He really was going to spend all of his money on Lan Zhan, wasn’t he? Well, if it was going to be anything. He grabbed his money pouch and pulled out the extra three coins and set them down on the counter.

The shopkeeper tilted her head and smiled at Wei Wuxian at the sweet gesture. “Thank you! You get to feeling better, alright Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan nodded and took the stockings. He sat down on the floor and took off his boots and socks and pulled up his pants to his knees, then pulled the stockings on. There were white ribbons at the top to hold them over his knees and he struggled to tie them correctly. He liked how the black looked on him though. He had never worn black before.

“They look nice on you, huh?” Wei Wuxian said. He tried not to linger too much on the reveal of his legs as Lan Zhan pulled the stockings on.

Lan Zhan ignored him. He could say he looked nice but would he fuck him? No. So he didn’t really think he looked that good did he?

It took him a little while but eventually he managed to tie the ribbons and put his boots back on. They felt weird, like he had put them on the wrong foot, but he didn’t care. He almost left his old socks on the floor but he picked them up and shoved them in his bag before heading out.

Wei Wuxian glanced towards the shopkeeper before he followed Lan Zhan out of the store. “Hey, Lan Zhan, maybe we should be heading back? It’s starting to get late,” he suggested.

Lan Zhan looked at the sky. It was dark, but hadn’t it been light just before? It couldn’t be that late. “It was daytime a minute ago,” he said.

“You also slept for about half an hour in my lap,” Wei Wuxian said with a huff, shaking his head.

Lan Zhan frowned. He didn’t remember falling asleep. Still, it couldn’t be later than five, right? What time was it? “Campus doesn’t close until nine,” he said.

“There’s no arguing with you, is there?” Wei Wuxian said, putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head again.

Lan Zhan started walking again and he went into a shop that held trinkets and cute things. He marveled at the miniature wooden animals and squeezed his empty money pouch until he got bored and went back across town to find the little park by the river. He sat down by the big bush and touched it, using his magic to grow the flower bud between his fingers.

Wei Wuxian kept following Lan Zhan around like a lost puppy. He watched as he grew the flower under his fingers and smiled. Lan Zhan’s magic was always mesmerising to see. He’d never met anyone like him.

“Are you going to keep ignoring me?” he asked softly.

“Yes,” Lan Zhan said.

He pushed his magic harder, as hard as he could just like he’d been doing for the past few weeks to try and strengthen his endurance. Then the flower, which was a light pink, suddenly turned a deep red. Lan Zhan gasped and pulled his hands away and looked at them, then at the flower.

“It’s red!” he cried. He turned to stare at Wei Wuxian in shock.

There was no stopping the chuckle that came out of Wei Wuxian when Lan Zhan looked at him like that. He was so cute when he let loose. He wanted to eat up every expression on his face.

“It is,” he said.

Lan Zhan looked back at the flower and picked it off of the bush. It was big and round with many petals. The red was like fresh blood, a deep and saturated crimson. How had he done that?

“I made it red,” he said.

“See? You give yourself too little credit. You’re incredibly talented, Lan Zhan. I’ve never seen anything like it. Like you,” Wei Wuxian replied.

“There’s only one me,” Lan Zhan said. He dropped the flower on the ground and got up to go to another flower plant and crouch down next to it. He did what he had done before, pushing as much magic as he could at once, watching the flower bloom and then turn a bright blue.

“I know and that’s part of what makes _you_ special,” Wei Wuxian knew that Lan Zhan hated it when he said stuff like this but he couldn’t help the words spilling out of his mouth.

Lan Zhan ignored it and picked the flower, then reached up to stick the stem through his bun, above the hair ornament that he had on it. He ran over to the water so he could look at his reflection. The colors weren't very easy to see, since it was dark and only lit by the lamps hanging around.

The sight was _so_ precious. Wei Wuxian sat down by the river and fumbled through his bag to find a sketchbook and a pencil. Then, he begun to draw.

Lan Zhan stayed by the water for a few minutes. He wondered if he could make his own hair ornament using real flowers instead of silk ones. He could just keep them alive himself. He could be the prettiest omega. He looked around and found a bench under a willow tree and lay down on it, curling up and tucking his arms under his head. He was tired from running around so much, and he wanted to nap.

Wei Wuxian kept an eye on him while he continued to draw. It was a little hard to see in the light but he made do. He illustrated a pretty picture of Lan Zhan himself, sitting on his knees with a pretty flower in his hairpiece. He smiled to himself and tore the page out so he could give it to Lan Zhan.

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian called to him as he approached the bench.

Lan Zhan's eyes fluttered open and he stared as Wei Wuxian walked over to him. He was annoyed, he just wanted to take a nap in peace. "Let me sleep," he said.

“Do you want to see what I drew?” Wei Wuxian asked anyway, taking a seat on the bench. His heart fluttered at his sleepy face.

Curious, Lan Zhan sat up and looked at Wei Wuxian quizzically. His flower fell off his head and he reached down to get it and stick it back in his hair.

“Here, look,” Wei Wuxian said, handing the paper with the drawing on it to Lan Zhan. “You can keep it.”

Lan Zhan blinked a few times. It was him? He took the paper and stared at it. "Why did you draw me?" he asked.

Wei Wuxian smiled at him. “You’re beautiful, that’s why. But I saw you looking at yourself with that flower in your hair and I thought… you were so pretty that I had to try and capture it. Do you like it?”

Lan Zhan frowned. "I'm pretty but you won't do anything about it," he said. He threw the paper at Wei Wuxian and lay back down. "I don't want to be a pretty doll to sit on your shelf if you won't play with me."

Wei Wuxian’s smile immediately dropped. He looked down at the paper and frowned, falling silent for once. No matter what he did or how hard he tried, Lan Zhan didn’t seem to want anything from him but sex.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and got comfortable, taking advantage of the silence and his growing sleepiness. He let himself drift to sleep, calmed by the sounds of the river.

Wei Wuxian tucked the paper back in his bag. Maybe he would offer it again when he was sober. He sighed then looked at Lan Zhan. Once he was in a deep sleep, Wei Wuxian carefully picked him up and started walking back to campus.

Lan Zhan slept fitfully for a little while, going in and out of unconsciousness. He didn't fight against the hold, content to just sit in Wei Wuxian's arms. Eventually, though, he started to become more aware. The full realization of what was happening hit him suddenly and he tensed up and struggled.

"Put me down!" he said.

Wei Wuxian obeyed the request and set Lan Zhan down on his feet but he didn’t stop walking, he just kept on moving.

Lan Zhan stumbled a little but righted himself and looked around. "Where... what happened?" he asked.

They were on the road back to campus it looked like... the last thing he could really remember before being carried was being at that place and drinking the wine.

“Oh. Have you sobered up?” Wei Wuxian asked, looking over his shoulder at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan cast his own magelight to light up the area. Were his boots on the wrong feet? "Have I been drunk?" he asked confusedly. He had only drank one cup... right?

“You were very drunk for a while.” Wei Wuxian was having his doubts that they were going to make it back in time.

"How long has it been?" Lan Zhan asked.

“Well, we’re not going to make it back for curfew, I don’t think,” Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head. He didn’t know what the point of walking the whole way back even was.

Lan Zhan's hesitant steps came to a stop. He held his head, which he realized was aching. "In that case let's go back," he said. "I'm not sleeping on the ground."

“And just where do you think you’re going to go? You spent the last of your money on those stockings,” Wei Wuxian said, pointing down to his legs.

Stockings...? Lan Zhan looked down and pulled the bottom of his robes up. He was indeed wearing new stockings, and they were _black._ What had he been thinking? And his boots were on the wrong feet too. He sighed heavily.

"I'm never drinking again," he said as he turned around and started going back down the road. It would at least be easier to walk downhill.

Wei Wuxian groaned low in his throat and then turned to follow Lan Zhan. There was no way he was letting him go anywhere on his own.

Wei Wuxian had actually managed to carry Lan Zhan uphill quite a bit of the way. Lan Zhan was impressed as he kept walking and walking. Eventually he had to stop and lean on a tree to change his boots to the right feet. He couldn't believe he had bought those stockings... but at least they were cute. The little bows above his knees were adorable. It sort of matched his underwear too, since they were white with black trim. They were opposites...

When he finally got back to the city, Lan Zhan went to the closest inn. It was a relatively big one and it didn't seem like many people were there. He did notice a large alpha man ogling at him as soon as he walked in the door and he scowled at him. He wondered how many alphas had had their eyes on him while he was drunk. What had he even _done_ the whole time?

He went up to the counter. The innkeeper was an elderly man and he knew the Lans well, as did most people who owned shops in Gusu.

"I don't have any money," Lan Zhan explained, "but the gates at the college are already closed. May I have a room to sleep in tonight? I can pay you back tomorrow."

The man smiled. "Of course, little Lan Zhan. The Lan family is always welcome here." He handed him a key and looked behind him at Wei Wuxian. "Is this young man with you? Do you want two rooms?"

Lan Zhan turned to look at him over his shoulder then started walking away while he said, "It's up to him."

Wei Wuxian debated it in his mind. It would be more appropriate for them to get two rooms. But on the other hand, Wei Wuxian didn’t like the way that alpha had looked at Lan Zhan. He didn’t like the idea of Lan Zhan being alone all night in this inn. Deep inside was a primal urge to keep him safe.

“We’ll share,” Wei Wuxian said to the innkeeper before hurrying after Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan was happy to note that they got the room in the very back. He loved it when the shopkeepers gave him special treatment because he was a Lan. They usually gave people rooms towards the front, so hopefully this meant he could have some peace and quiet... assuming Wei Wuxian didn't snore or anything.

The first thing he did when he got into the room was pour himself a glass of water. He drank it all and then poured another one and set it on the bedside table, since he liked to have water with him at night. And he was so thirsty in general. Was it because of the alcohol?

"What happened?" he asked Wei Wuxian as he went to the water basin to wash his face. The water was cold since it was manually drawn rather than pulled up and heated with magic like they had at the college, but it helped clear his head.

“Well, after you woke up, you tried to pick a fight with some alpha, got upset with me for not making out with you in public, ran off to buy those stockings, which you couldn’t afford so I had to pay for part of it… Um… Then you started using your magic to make flowers bloom in these bushes. I drew a picture for you but you threw it back at me then fell asleep on a bench so I started carrying you back,” Wei Wuxian explained. “That’s it.”

Lan Zhan winced. He didn’t like hearing about things he did that he didn’t remember. But that all sounded like things he would do… He went to look at himself in the mirror and noticed the deep blue flower stuck in his hair. He carefully pulled it out and looked at it. He had never seen a flower of this kind that had such an intense color.

“Did I grow this?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian nodded. “You were very pleased with yourself. You grew a bright red flower as well but you plucked the blue one to put in your hair.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He wondered if the flower had originally been that bright or if he had somehow intensified the pigment. He would have to play with it later. He took off his boots and untied his robes. He didn't have pajamas with him, but it didn't matter. He could sleep in his underwear and dudou and his new stockings and just curl up to keep warm. He didn't want to sleep in his robes or pants and wrinkle them.

Once his clothes were folded and set on the dresser, he took his hair down and set his forehead ribbon and hair ribbon on top of them with the hair ornament. He brushed through his hair with his fingers for a few minutes, wishing he had brought a comb with him.

"How much did I drink?" he asked. He must have kept drinking more than what he remembered, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten so drunk.

“Only a cup. Then you passed out,” Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh. He avoided looking at Lan Zhan for too long, especially as he started stripping down to his underwear as well. “Trust me, you surprised me too. I figured that it might not take you a lot but not…like that.”

Lan Zhan frowned. Only a cup... That was weird, wasn't it? Was there something wrong with him? Well, either way he didn't want to drink again.

He finished washing up and then went to the bed to curl up into a ball on his side. His arms and entire back were bare along with his thighs, but at least he had those warm stockings. He wrapped the blankets around him tight and closed his eyes.

Wei Wuxian looked over at Lan Zhan. He’d caught a glimmer of his naked back and the smooth skin of his thighs. It felt scandalous to have even seen it. He could feel how warm his cheeks were and hopefully his aroused scent was not leaking out too strongly. After clearing his throat, he crept over to the bed and climbed under the covers as well. He turned with his back to Lan Zhan. Given that he was only in a pair of undershorts, he was grateful for the warm blankets.

“Goodnight Lan Zhan,” he said softly.

"Night night," Lan Zhan mumbled. Once Wei Wuxian was in bed he turned out the lights and curled back into himself. It didn't take him too long to drift to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both of them sleeping almost-naked in the same bed? Hmm I wonder where this could lead :)


	6. First Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to try and edit+post more chapters... I'm anxious for y'all to get past lan zhan's cringey rude phase.....
> 
> Smut tag: low-key somnophilia mention

It was probably around five when Lan Zhan woke up, judging by how it was still dark in the room. He felt _very_ warm he noticed his own arousal before he registered Wei Wuxian's bare chest pressed against his back or the aroused scent he was putting out.

Lan Zhan shivered at the intoxicating smell and he shifted a little, pushing back into it. His shiver turned into a quiet gasp when he felt _something_ long and hard pushing against his ass.

Was that...? Of course it was. There wasn't anything else it could be. It seemed like Wei Wuxian was still asleep, so that was probably his morning wood. It must have affected Lan Zhan in his sleep too since he was just as aroused.

Before he could do anything else, Lan Zhan had to scoot forward to get the glass of water he'd left on the bedside table. It was then that he realized Wei Wuxian's arm was wrapped around his waist and his leg was thrown over his hip.

He wanted to sink back into the bed and snuggle back against him, but he was _really_ thirsty... he slowly, carefully pulled himself forward until he could reach the glass and propped himself up on his elbow so he could drink the entire thing. As his eyes grew accustomed to the dark, they zeroed in on the plate of oranges on the bedside table and he realized he probably hadn't eaten anything since the previous afternoon. Could he eat an orange and not wake Wei Wuxian up? He knew he wasn't going to have sex with him, but Lan Zhan at least wanted to take advantage of that delicious arousal smell for as long as he could.

He slowly and carefully reached for the plate and pulled it over until he could grab it and set it on the bed. He gently settled back into Wei Wuxian's embrace. While he peeled his orange and savored the juicy slices, he tried to get a reading on how big that dick was. It seemed big and heavy with how it pulsed against him. He wanted to reach back and grab it… the thought sent a wave of arousal through him and he could feel the slick coming out of him. The blankets were pretty tight around his body but he was sure that if he lifted them up the scent of slick would come wafting out and mix with his own sweet, aroused scent. It was going to be annoying trying to get himself clean now.

Wei Wuxian had been content and snoring peacefully until the weight under him started to move. Since when did pillows and blankets move? He let out a quiet grumble and squeezed the mass he had his arms around, making a content noise when it seemed to settle back against him. But it wasn’t enough. He made another noise as his eyes slowly fluttered open.

It was then that he realised that what he was cuddling and rutting against was not in fact, blankets or pillows, but Lan Zhan.

“Mm… Oh…” he whispered. His whole face burned. It seemed he had rolled over and clung to Lan Zhan in his sleep. That was less of an issue than his throbbing arousal though.

“Uh, I’m… sorry,” Wei Wuxian said, carefully peeling his arms and his leg from Lan Zhan’s body. There was no way he could miss Lan Zhan’s aroused scent though.

Lan Zhan made a quiet disappointed noise. He hadn't wanted to wake him up... his precious moment had ended. He wanted to keep breathing in that spicy scent. Who knew if he ever would again?

"Come back," he said quietly, attempting to hold onto it. He took off an orange slice and held it over his shoulder to entice him. "Eat an orange."

This felt surprisingly intimate. Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Zhan’s exposed shoulder blades and then up to the glimpse skin he could see under his hair where his neck was, where his scent was coming from. He gradually shuffled back and took the orange between his teeth to eat.

Lan Zhan hummed low and satisfied as Wei Wuxian took his spot back. This felt like some sort of intricate foreplay almost, though he was sure Wei Wuxian didn't see it that way. Still, he fed him more orange slices. He should take these oranges back with him. He wanted to grow a tree in his room. They didn't have oranges in the greenhouse, since they were so difficult to keep alive there, but Lan Zhan wanted to _try._ They tasted sweet and made his morning mouth taste better, plus they were so juicy and he was still kind of thirsty so that was nice.

(And maybe the pleasurable situation made everything just seem _good._ He felt like everything was right in the world at that moment... Except for the fact that Wei Wuxian wasn't going to fuck him.)

He shared another orange with Wei Wuxian and then decided to take a shot at it. What was the worst that could happen? (Wei Wuxian could reject him again. But he didn't want to think about that.)

Pushing back a little, he mumbled, "I'll give you a hand with your problem if you promise to not make it weird."

Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened at Lan Zhan’s preposition. He supposed he shouldn’t have expected anything less but still… If he turned him down, he would still need to find some way to deal with this problem. If he accepted… What would that mean for them? Lan Zhan asked him not to make it weird. Could he cope with that?

“A…” Wei Wuxian started but his voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “A literal hand?”

"Mmhmm." Lan Zhan waited patiently, mostly expecting to be rejected. He played with the orange peels and chewed on one of them.

Wei Wuxian’s heart hammered. He took a shaky inhale. No one had ever touched him like that other than himself. What would it be like? Would it be okay if it was Lan Zhan? He felt a little embarrassed.

“…Okay but… do it under the covers. Please,” he said.

Lan Zhan's eyes widened. _Oh wow, he accepted..._ He was going to get to touch it for real. Feeling giddy, he tossed the orange peel back on the plate and turned around. It was still pretty dark, so it wasn't like he could really get a _good look_ at anything, but he didn't like doing things in the open anyway. Only sometimes.

He tucked his head under Wei Wuxian's chin and lifted one leg to drape over his thigh. They had so much skin exposed, he loved how it felt pressed together. He closed his eyes and slowly reached into Wei Wuxian's pants. His own aroused scent, which had been low but steady this whole time, suddenly spiked as he wrapped his hand around that thick shaft. He let out a low, breathy noise of appreciation as he slowly moved it up and down, taking his time to make a mental map of Wei Wuxian's length.

As soon as Lan Zhan’s hand made contact with his cock, Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched. His fingers were so careful, dainty, around his shaft. He could feel it pulse in his palm as he moved along. It was unlike anything else he’d experienced. He could see why many alphas might get addicted to the feeling.

Lan Zhan took his time exploring and running his fingers over the head and the veins and reaching down to grope at those _massive_ balls, but he soon realized that this wasn't enough for him. He pushed Wei Wuxian onto his back and rolled with him, shuffling around to get comfortable laying on top of him. He had to pull the blanket back up over his shoulders and as he did he caught the thick smell of slick that came out.

He spread his legs wide and reached between them to grab Wei Wuxian's cock again, this time pointing it right up against his pussy. His panties were already so wet and he shivered when he felt the head pressing up against him through the wet fabric.

“Oh Gods,” Wei Wuxian whimpered. It was too much. He couldn’t handle this. That was Lan Zhan’s…! His…! He let out a shaky moan and bucked his hips up into the friction, rutting against the wet fabric. It felt _so_ good, there was no way he could stop now. Not when he was already so close. “L-Lan Zhan…I’m…aah… I’m not g-going to last long,” he rasped.

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath and bit his lip, letting out a quiet moan himself as Wei Wuxian pushed his cock up against his entrance. He wanted to reach down and pull his underwear off, but he had told Wei Wuxian he would only use his hand. But maybe if he just kept it still, didn't push down... he wanted to feel Wei Wuxian's cum on his pussy, he couldn't help it. He pushed down his underwear and took Wei Wuxian's cock and moved it to where it had been, just _barely_ touching his wetness. He shivered and ached to press down, but he was a good boy and stayed still other than giving the hot shaft a few strokes.

Wei Wuxian’s desperately fisted the sheets, moans spilling out of his lips. He could hardly believe it. Lan Zhan had removed the fabric that separated him from… _that_ area. Oh _Gods._ Everything in his body was telling him to press up, to chase that wetness, and sink into that tight heat. Just the thought of it had him crying out.

“L-Lan Zhan…!” he gasped. Just like that, he spilt hot against him.

Lan Zhan was quick to keep Wei Wuxian's cock pointed right between his legs. The feeling of the shoots of cum against his pussy was ecstasy. It didn't go very far in, but it was just enough to deeply satisfy him. Even though he hadn't cum, he still felt a full-body buzz of pleasure and he smiled in contentment, his scent sweetening. He milked Wei Wuxian's cock for as much as it would squirt out, then he let go and pulled his underwear back up. He was hard still, but it wasn't really a problem since it would go away soon. He rolled off of Wei Wuxian and reached for another orange.

Wei Wuxian laid there for a moment as he cooled down from his orgasm. What… had even happened in these last few moments? How did he feel about it? Slowly, he turned his head to look at Lan Zhan. “Um… Thank you,” he said awkwardly. “Do you… want anything back from me?”

Lan Zhan didn't look up from his orange as he peeled it. "You already gave me something," he said. He rubbed his thighs together, feeling smug. "I'll keep it warm."

“O-Oh… How can you say things like that with a straight face?” Wei Wuxian said, covering hs own face with his hands as his blush intensified.

"I'm in a good mood," Lan Zhan answered.

He popped an orange slice in his mouth. He really was in a good mood; he felt as light as a feather. Sure, Wei Wuxian hadn't _fucked_ him, but he'd gotten pretty damn close.

With a grumble, Wei Wuxian pushed himself up on the bed and then shifted to lean his head on Lan Zhan’s shoulder. He plucked one of the orange slices out of his hand so he could eat it himself. “Well, I’m glad,” he said with his mouthful.

Lan Zhan was surprisingly tolerant. "Gege might have words with you today," he said, "since I won't be at breakfast."

“Will he be mad that you went out drinking? Is there anything you want me to say to him?” Wei Wuxian asked, tilting his head towards Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan thought about it for a moment. "You can say whatever you want," he said. "But he won't want you to be around me if he knows you gave me alcohol and slept in my bed. Uncle too. I told them that you were taking me and Su Ming to get food."

“Well, then as far as he’s concerned, we went out to get food and got carried away, so missed curfew. We stayed at an inn in separate rooms and then walked back to campus,” Wei Wuxian said. He sighed. “Providing that Su Ming is also in on this?”

Lan Zhan nodded. "She said she would fake a headache if she got caught," he mumbled. He didn't really have to pull her into this, but he didn't want his family to think that Wei Wuxian was courting him.

"Okay," Wei Wuxian said and breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to get in trouble with Lan Zhan's family. "I guess that's the plan then."

Lan Zhan ate the rest of the orange and then stood up from the bed and stretched his arms over his head and arched his back a bit. Even with the chilly air on his naked back he felt great; he was sure that next time he would need more than what he got to be satisfied, but for now he was happy as a clam. He wasn't hard anymore, but the leftover slick and cum was still wet between his legs.

_Next time..._

Would there be a next time? He supposed he would have to see. This might have just been a one-time thing due to Wei Wuxian already being hard, but he would take what he could get.

He walked over to the water basin to wash his face and said, "If I drink again I'll just take a couple drops." He noticed the piece of paper sticking out of Wei Wuxian’s bag. It looked like part of a drawing. Remembering what Wei Wuxian had said about drawing him a picture the night before, he went over and picked it up to look at it.

“Oh...” It was him. And he was wearing a flower in his hair on top of the hair ornament, just like he had seen in the mirror the night before. It was a skilled illustration.

“This is good,” he mumbled quietly, his tone mildly surprised.

Wei Wuxian ran his fingers through his hair and then turned to look at Lan Zhan, seeing him pick up the paper from his bag. His heart hammered in his chest and he had to look away, even as he complimented it.

“You can keep it if you want,” he said quietly. “Last night, you asked me why drew it so I said that I found you beautiful and wanted to draw you. Apparently, you didn’t like that answer because what did it matter if I found you pretty if I didn’t want to have sex with you right now. So you threw it back at me.”

Lan Zhan hummed. “It _is_ frustrating,” he said. He folded the paper and went to put it in his bag before he continued getting dressed. Usually he wouldn’t want it, but his good mood made him feel less upset by things like this. And it was a skilled drawing.

“I-It’s not like I don’t want to have sex with you…!” Wei Wuxian said. He pushed himself out of the bed finally and started dressing to distract himself from his words. “I do. I just… I think we should… we should have known each other longer. If we keep having days like this then who knows…”

Lan Zhan sighed. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say that. There’s always alphas who think I’m pretty but don’t like dick.”

Wei Wuxian huffed and shook his head. “I’m not lying to you. I wouldn’t. I haven’t ever lied to you. I have… I have no problem with dick! I don’t care if you have a dick or not. I like you because you’re _you._ You’re Lan Zhan. I-If you wanted me to repay the favour and jerk you off, I’d… I’d be fine with that!”

Lan Zhan smiled darkly at the ribbon he had in his hand. “I would be _fine_ with giving your brother a handjob for a hundred coins but it’s nothing I would go out of my way to do or think about, it doesn’t keep me up at night,” he said. He added in a low mumble, “You don’t want me as much as I want you and that’s okay.”

He was mostly saying that to convince himself. _He_ wasn’t okay, but he would get over it. Maybe.

That hurt. Wei Wuxian didn’t know how to express to him that he really, _really_ did want Lan Zhan. If they… If they had sex… Wei Wuxian took a shaky breath at the thought. Would things get better? Would Lan Zhan let him take him out if they did? Let him court him? This was every alpha’s wet dream, surely. Sex first, feelings later. But Wei Wuxian had never been a traditional man. Even so, before he could stop himself, he marched over to Lan Zhan and grabbed his cheeks to pull him into a searing kiss.

Lan Zhan was tempted to yank himself away, not wanting Wei Wuxian to keep appeasing him. It was a little insulting. But Wei Wuxian was warm and alluring and Lan Zhan could still feel his cum between his legs. He grabbed onto Wei Wuxian’s shirt and relaxed into the kiss.

Wei Wuxian carded his fingers through Lan Zhan’s hair and pulled him closer, until their bodies were flush against one another. He deepened the kiss, laving his tongue over Lan Zhan’s bottom lip to be granted entry. After a few moments of this, he pulled back and leaned his forehead against Lan Zhan’s.

“I don’t know how else to express to you that I really want you,” he whispered just loud enough for Lan Zhan to hear. He swallowed roughly. “I’m scared that… I’m scared that if we have sex, you’ll laugh at me. You’ll think I’m an incompetent virgin and you’ll never want to see me again. That’s not how I want to lose my virginity. I don’t want to be used and thrown aside. I’m scared that you look at me as just… someone to have sex with and not a person.”

Lan Zhan licked his lips and closed his eyes. How did he want to address this?

“You are a person,” he murmured. “A person that is annoying and confusing but is hot enough that it doesn’t matter. I would be happy tying you up and riding you every day of my life with nothing in return except your desire. I don’t want you to buy me things or look at me like I’m some kind of miracle because I’m not. I want you to _want_ me.”

He moved away and turned around to the mirror and started pulling his hair back into a half updo. He needed Wei Wuxian to understand. “You want a sweet little omega to take home to your family and hang on your arm like a decoration and the sex will come later, before things like marriage and kids. The reality is your family won’t like me, I’ll embarrass you in public, and you won’t want to get far enough to see how bad of a wife I’d be. I don’t want a mate.”

Wei Wuxian marched towards Lan Zhan to grab his arm and pull him back around to look at him. “If I wanted any old sweet little omega, don’t you think I would have done that by now? I could take my pick of any nice omega girl here and make a wife out of her. But I don’t _want_ that.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Lan Zhan, you can be… really cold sometimes. Really rude. And I never know what you’re thinking, you’re so hard to read. But guess what? I like you anyway. It’s going to take more than that to get me to stop liking you. In fact, I can’t think of anything you could do that’d make me not like you,” he said.

“And I don’t care if my family doesn’t like you. They barely care about me anyway. Plus, you have _some_ nerve to think you’d embarrass me. You’re really in for it now, you know? I’m going to embarrass the shit out of you, you just wait.” He laughed a little. “I’m persistent, Lan Zhan. I’m persistent and I’m fucking annoying and I am going to continue to annoy you for as long as I live.”

Lan Zhan didn’t understand. He really didn’t. What kind of person was just willing to get treated like shit without anything in return? He yanked himself away to once again try to put his hair up.

“What I want from you is for you to lie in bed at night and think about me until you can’t stop yourself from coming through my window and fucking me awake. It’s getting warm enough that I leave it unblocked these days. But next time you come in and leave me unsatisfied I’m tossing you back out the window so you better learn to conjure some wings if you plan on living up to your declaration.”

Who was Lan Zhan to suggest that Wei Wuxian didn’t think about him at night? How had he ended up being penalised for not being the sort of aggressive alpha who took whatever he wanted? Well, if that’s what Lan Zhan really wanted. He would let out the alpha inside him.

Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Zhan by the back of the neck and dragged him with relative ease back to the bed where he shoved him down. He followed him onto the bed and kept him pressed down with all his weight, then leant down to growl in his ear.

“This is what you want?” he asked. “You want me to treat you like brat you are? You want an alpha who treats you like a thing to be fucked?”


	7. First Time (pt 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split the chapters up a little more. I know a lot of people like long chapters but I think I would prefer to have them be somewhat shorter.

Lan Zhan hadn’t been expecting that at _all._ His heart pounded fast in his chest and his breathing sped up. He felt a little afraid, but not in a bad way. It was more like a thrill, excitement thrumming in his body and reigniting the fire that had died down a little while ago.

Wei Wuxian’s body was heavy on his and kept him trapped and it was the most delicious feeling in the world. The growl went straight to Lan Zhan’s groin, and his legs shook and spread apart a little. He had never seen this side of Wei Wuxian, but it was exactly what he had been dreaming about.

His scent turned from neutral to a small dose of fear drowned in arousal and desire. He was still wet from before, but he was sure new slick was already being made inside him. He had already put his pants on, but luckily his robes were safely folded on the dresser still.

“It’s about time,” he taunted him, “what happened to the nervous boy afraid of being laughed at?”

Wei Wuxian had done his best to swallow down those insecurities since his emotional side had been rejected but Lan Zhan was the type to drag that stuff back up. “You told me that you’d ride me every day of your life,” he said, nosing at Lan Zhan’s neck. “That’s enough to give me a bit of confidence, don’t you think?”

He had to fight through it. Fake it until you make it or whatever people said. Wei Wuxian leaned back to turn Lan Zhan onto his back. He fumbled with Lan Zhan’s laces for a moment before he tore the pants right off his legs. Then, he pushed his legs apart so he could settle between them and press up against his panties.

Lan Zhan couldn’t argue with that. He arched his back and put his heels on Wei Wuxian’s lower back, pulling him in. He was so wet, and he was getting hard again very quickly. He looked down and noted that the stockings really did look good on him. They were cute.

“I don’t think you _could_ disappoint me,” he admitted. Then, because he couldn’t just compliment Wei Wuxian without dampening it, “I don’t know what happened to my standards.”

"You said you wanted me to think about you at night. Who's to say I don't? You have no idea how much I desire you," Wei Wuxian continued. He paid no mind to the insult, deciding the best course of action was to just give it back to him as he hardened in his own pants at Lan Zhan's sweet, aroused scent, rutting harder against him. "Say whatever you want to make yourself feel better but you've been willing to fuck me for a long time, haven't you?"

“I have,” Lan Zhan relented, his voice breathy and wanton. He reached up and grabbed hold of Wei Wuxian’s shirt, spreading his legs as far as they could go — which was pretty wide. He couldn’t get enough of how Wei Wuxian’s cock felt sliding against his pussy and rubbing over his balls, even through the layers of fabric.

He felt like being generous for once, like revealing exactly how much he wanted him. “I’ve fucked myself and imagined how big you’d be. How much cum you could put in me.”

Wei Wuxian’s cock twitched at his words. The mental image of Lan Zhan playing with himself, thinking about him, was almost too much for him to handle. He’d already cum once this morning and he ached to think that he was going to get a second go.

“You’re filthy,” he breathed, his aroused scent leaking out in waves. He rut up against him a few more times and then hooked his fingers in the hem of his panties. He’d already felt him against his cock from that morning in the bed, but he looked up to Lan Zhan for approval anyway.

Lan Zhan bit his lip. As filthy as he was, he didn’t like being _that_ exposed, especially not somewhere other than his room. He liked being in his nest or under the covers in his bed. But he still wanted his underwear gone. He pushed the blankets down from under him and said, “Under the covers first.”

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian said. He adjusted so they could pull the covers up over them. Lan Zhan had paid him the same courtesy in the bed that morning so it was the least he could do. Once they were under, he carefully pulled Lan Zhan’s panties down his legs.

As soon as they were off, the scent of slick hit strong and Lan Zhan spread his legs again. By force of habit his hand ran down and slid through the wetness and a finger plunged inside. He really was so wet...

“Wei Wuxian,” he breathed. _Shit_ he was so turned on.

By now, Wei Wuxian’s cock was straining against his pants. The smell of slick was so _strong._ Lan Zhan really wanted him. His hand was a little shaky as he reached down between Lan Zhan’s legs. He was surprised to find his hand already there but he bat it away so he could run his fingers of the soft, puffy flesh. Gods. He was _so_ wet. The slick was practically drowning his fingers. He’d never felt anything like it. Even so, he experimentally pushed two of his fingers between the lips and then gently sank one of his fingers inside. _Oh._ So hot… so tight around his finger. Would his cock even fit inside him?

Lan Zhan let out a shaky breath. It felt so _wrong_ to have Wei Wuxian down there, but in all the right ways. He wrapped his fingers around his cock and teased the head, his hips lifting up in little movements. He squeezed around Wei Wuxian's finger, enjoying how it felt to have something foreign in there.

"How does it feel?" he asked curiously. He couldn't imagine not having a pussy to play with; it must be weird to feel one for the first time.

“’s… strange. Hot. Soft. Wet…” Wei Wuxian said. He started moving his finger in and out before pulling out completely to seek out some of his drying cum from earlier that morning and pushing it inside Lan Zhan when he sunk his finger back in. “Tight…”

Lan Zhan hummed and lifted his hips again, arching his back and pressing his head into the bed. He didn’t _intend_ to bare his neck, but the way he writhed made it happen anyway. Wei Wuxian would have to _really_ work to make him truly submit with scent and all, though. Surely.

“It feels good,” he whispered. He loved having things inside him like that, even if it wasn’t actively pressing on his sweet spot. He was sure Wei Wuxian didn’t know about the g-spot yet unless he was just well-read, judging by how other omegas talked about how little their alphas knew about their bodies. He he wouldn’t mind teaching him when he wanted it to get more intense, but for the moment he was content to just let him explore.

Experimentally, Wei Wuxian pushed in a second finger. He manoeuvred them this way and that, curling them in and pushing up against all of his walls to feel him out. As he did, he leaned down to nose at his neck again, inhaling his scent deeply.

“You smell so sweet,” he mumbled.

Wei Wuxian’s fingers were thicker than Lan Zhan’s, so it was a little bit of a stretch. His walls tightened even more for a few seconds before he gradually was able to relax them around the new width. He ran his free hand under Wei Wuxian’s shirt to feel his chest and then around to his back. His skin was so hot and smooth, Lan Zhan couldn’t get enough of it. He turned his head to capture his lips in a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss.

Wei Wuxian was eager to reciprocate the kiss. He didn’t know why he hadn’t done this earlier. This was the most intimate he had ever been with Lan Zhan, not even just sexually. Like this, he was so receptive to him, to his praise, to his kisses. He liked having him touch him.

It was so hot under the blankets and it aroused Lan Zhan even more. He felt cozy and trapped and _wet_ and _open_ and free for Wei Wuxian to take. He moved his mouth in sync with him, opening up for him and licking at his lips and occasionally nibbling on him and sucking. He let out a quiet, breathy moan from the top of his throat, just from how content he was. He could stay here for the rest of his life and he would be happy.

Wei Wuxian _liked_ that noise. He wanted to hear more content noises from him. No, he wanted to hear more _pleasured_ noises. He pulled away from his lips to nibble on his neck, though not hard enough to leave a mark.

“Tell me how you like it,” he said, pushing his fingers in a little deeper. “I want to make you cum.”

Lan Zhan breathed out heavily and squirmed under Wei Wuxian some more, arching his back. “Keep your fingers straight and point them at my navel,” he murmured. “Move them in and out fast like you’re trying to rub a stain off the top of the inside. And don’t stop until I tell you to.”

Wei Wuxian licked his lips and nodded. He straightened out his fingers (though it was a little bit of a stretch) and then moved them up. It was mesmerising the way that his body seemed to adapt to whatever he put out. Then, he started to move them in and out at the quickest pace he could manage. He looked up and searched for Lan Zhan’s reaction.

It was immediate. Lan Zhan’s body tensed up and his hips lifted off the bed as he wrapped his legs around Wei Wuxian. He had never done anything like this with someone else, but he didn’t feel nervous like he thought he would. He felt completely at ease and safe underneath Wei Wuxian. His hand started moving on his cock and he pumped it fast. The dual stimulation overwhelmed him in the best way and he couldn’t help but let out a few soft, high pitched noises as he rapidly approached his first orgasm. His breaths became quick and shallow and his hips bucked up rhythmically. When he could feel himself starting to cum he reached up and grabbed Wei Wuxian’s hair with his free hand and curled into him with a squeak. His hips kept moving and riding the waves of pleasure as they washed over him. When it passed he relaxed and let go, still shivering.

“You can stop,” he breathed, heavy and shaky at the same time.

Wei Wuxian was completely enamoured by the sight. He stopped as soon as Lan Zhan told him to and pulled his fingers out. He didn’t know what to do with the information that Lan Zhan had given him. _He’d made him cum._ Without really thinking, Wei Wuxian popped the fingers that had just been inside him in his mouth and hummed at the sweet taste. Better than he thought.

Lan Zhan’s eyes darkened as he watched. He liked to taste his own slick, and apparently he wasn’t the only one that liked it. He had always wondered if it was weird of him. He licked his lips.

“I like it fast,” he said. “I can do it many times in a row. Sometimes I like it _really_ slow, but only if I’m sleepy.”

“Good to know,” Wei Wuxian said with a shaky breath. He pulled his fingers out of his mouth with a wet pop and then licked his lips. “Do you still want me to fuck you?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “I can ride you if you want,” he offered. He wasn’t sure how confident Wei Wuxian was with actually fucking him, he just knew that he wanted to feel that cock either way.

Wei Wuxian thought about it for a moment. It might take some of the nervousness away if Lan Zhan was doing the work. He leaned back on his haunches and fumbled with the ties of his pants so he could shove them off.

“I’d like that,” he said.

Wei Wuxian sitting back made Lan Zhan feel exposed, but he was mellow after that orgasm and didn’t mind as much as he did before. He waited until Wei Wuxian had lay down before he moved to lie on top of him. He pulled the blankets back over his shoulders, just like they had been positioned earlier that morning. He kissed at Wei Wuxian’s sternum and then up to his neck, while his hand reached between his legs and grabbed onto Wei Wuxian’s hot, leaking cock and positioned it at his entrance. He didn’t want to sit down just yet; he wanted to take his time. He moved his hips back and forth, rubbing his pussy over the head in a teasing way.

“Oh Gods,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He reached up to take a light hold on Lan Zhan’s hips. As much as he wanted to slam him down on his shaft, he held back. Lan Zhan would take this at his own pace. “Lan Zhan…”

Lan Zhan propped himself up next to Wei Wuxian’s head and leaned down to kiss him slowly and deeply, his tongue dipping down with each rock of his hips. He loved Wei Wuxian’s reactions; he loved how desperate he sounded. He _wanted_ Lan Zhan, he _ached_ for him. That alone made Lan Zhan shiver.

For once, Lan Zhan actually wanted to hear him talk. “Tell me how much you want me,” he whispered against his lips.

Wei Wuxian groaned, looking up at Lan Zhan with lidded eyes. He squeezed his hips lightly. If he wanted him to talk, he would gladly do so.

“I want you, Lan Zhan,” he said. “I want you so bad. You’re so beautiful, the most beautiful man I have ever seen. You were so good for me when I had my fingers in you. I know you’ll feel even better on my… on my cock.”

That sent a full-body shiver through Lan Zhan. Wei Wuxian was so sexy and hearing him talk about desiring him made Lan Zhan weak. He spread his legs more, letting the tip of Wei Wuxian’s cock tease the inside. It was thick and wasn’t going to slide in easily, he realized. He pressed down a little more and stopped before he was stretched too wide, choosing to move up and down right there without going further just yet. He thought about how Wei Wuxian could cum in him again and he made a soft, high pitched noise.

Wei Wuxian let out a breathy moan as soon as the tip of his cock sunk inside Lan Zhan. It was hotter and tighter than he imagined and it felt _insanely_ good. His hands ran up and down Lan Zhan’s sides before one hand came around to wrap around his cock. It was much smaller than his own, but not a bad size.

“Have you… done this before?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip. His cock was sensitive from his orgasm but that only made it feel better when Wei Wuxian touched it. He shook his head. “You took my first kiss under the apple tree,” he murmured. “No one else dared.” He paused, then added, “No one else _could.”_

He chose then to sit down completely, but he quickly realized that was a mistake and he should have taken it slower. It _hurt_ and he made a choked noise, his body shaking and eyes wide.

Wei Wuxian’s heart swelled with pride knowing that he was the only one who had done this with Lan Zhan. He was the first person to kiss him, the first person to have sex with him. That made him special. But he didn’t like that way Lan Zhan winced with his pain. He looked up at him with a concerned expression and tightened his grip in his hip to steady him, his other hand still stroking his cock.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Do you want me to pull out?”

Lan Zhan shook his head. He was fine. The pain subsided after a moment as he relaxed and got used to the new girth. He pushed himself to his hands and wiggled his hips. He liked sitting on him and straddling him like this. It felt good.

“Like riding a horse but better,” he muttered to himself. He pushed himself up to the tip and then slowly eased down again. His walls ached, and he was sure he was going to be in at least some pain for the rest of the day but it was worth it.

Wei Wuxian had to pull his hand away from Lan Zhan’s hip to cover his mouth with the back of his hand, muffling his laughter. “Y-You can’t just compare me to a horse when we’re doing something like this…!” he gasped.

Lan Zhan gave him a cool stare and said, “Feels like you’re as big as one.” Wei Wuxian wasn’t _that_ big, but Lan Zhan never used more than two fingers and he certainly had never taken something bigger than that. He pulled up and sank down again, still going at a too-slow pace.

That made Wei Wuxian laugh more before he finally settled down. It didn’t take long for him to grow impatient with Lan Zhan’s slow movement. He started thrusting his hips up to meet Lan Zhan’s rocking, sinking him down quicker.

“Come on,” he breathed. “You said you wanted this. So take it.”

Lan Zhan scowled at him, feeling competitive. “Fine,” he grumbled.

He sat down again as much as he could, feeling Wei Wuxian’s cock barely reaching the top of his canal. He had never been able to reach that when he was fucking himself, so it was an odd sensation. It wasn’t unpleasant, though. He shuffled to get in the right position, then he started bouncing up and down. He had done some of this type of thing when masturbating, so it wasn’t completely new to him.

Wei Wuxian let out a long moan. The feeling was indescribable. White hot pleasure was running through his whole body, his cock throbbing inside the wet heat of Lan Zhan’s body. He knew that he would never be able to go without this for long again, not now he knew how good it was.

“Oh Gods, Lan Zhan,” he rasped again. “ _Fuck._ You feel so good, you’re so hot… You take me so well, do you see that? I wish I…mm… wasn’t going to cum so soon…hahh…”

Lan Zhan kept at it, even when his legs were getting tired, though he went from hard bounces to shallower but quicker jerks up and down. He was definitely going to start focusing on his thighs in his warmups at martial arts lessons. He put his hand on Wei Wuxian’s that was wrapped around his cock and moved it faster, urging him on.

There was something about Wei Wuxian’s cock that sent him wild. He pulled off of it completely and then sank back down on it halfway before repeating the gesture. Each time the thick head passed that tight strip of muscle just on the inside it sent a wave of pleasure through him. The third time he did it he was suddenly pushed into another orgasm, surprising him enough to pull a moan out of him. He stopped moving and shivered, squeezing around the hard shaft.

“Wow… did you cum again?” Wei Wuxian asked, feeling more confident now. He couldn’t help himself. He put both hands on Lan Zhan’s hips now and pushed him so he could flip them over, pushing the blankets back with the movement of his body and grabbing Lan Zhan’s thighs so he could start fucking in at his own pace.

Lan Zhan spread his legs _wide_ and pulled his knees up, curling himself up. He grabbed his shaft and loosely twisted his hand around it, though he avoided the sensitive head.

“Cum in me,” he breathed, _demanded._

Wei Wuxian dared to glance down at where the two of them were connected and his breath hitched. It was inappropriate, it was _obscene_ , but Gods did he love every second of it. He thrust in harder, faster, chasing his orgasm. He leaned down and buried his face into Lan Zhan’s neck with a moan.

“Are you sure?” he whispered. “I’m… I’m going to knot you. It might hurt…!”

_...Fuck._ Lan Zhan didn’t think he could actually take a knot. It might tear him up. He reached down and grabbed hold of the base of Wei Wuxian’s cock. “Knot my hand,” he said. “You can still cum in me.” At least, he hoped that was how it worked.

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. It would take some self-restraint to not slam all the way inside him once his knot started to expand but he would do his best for Lan Zhan. He kept fucking in until he felt his orgasm quickly approach.

“Fuck…Okay…” he rasped. He pulled out until just the tip was inside, then guided Lan Zhan’s hand along his cock, jerking him off until he finally came with a loud moan. The knot expanded in Lan Zhan’s hand, far wider than he could grip properly, but the cum managed to shoot just inside of his pussy.

Lan Zhan bit his lip through a whiny moan when he felt the seed spilling in him. He honestly liked feeling it towards the opening, it somehow felt dirtier that way. He was glad he hadn’t told Wei Wuxian to knot him — just feeling it in his hand freaked him out. _Gods_ how was he supposed to take that? He supposed be had adjusted pretty quickly to his cock. Maybe he just needed to practice taking more than two fingers.

“Feels good,” he breathed as Wei Wuxian finished cumming in him.

Wei Wuxian had to catch his breath. When he did, he pulled back until he slipped out of Lan Zhan but leaned in to kiss him. This had been… _good_. He wanted to do it again, he wanted to try different things. Would Lan Zhan eventually be able to take his knot?

“Not going to laugh at me?” Wei Wuxian asked after he pulled away from the kiss with a little laugh himself.

Lan Zhan hummed and pulled Wei Wuxian back for another kiss. He wanted to do this every day for the rest of his life. He would even put up with Wei Wuxian’s bullshit for it.

Of course, Wei Wuxian was more than happy to be pulled into said kiss. He melted into it and ran his fingers up the sides of Lan Zhan’s face, then through his hair. “Will you let me buy you pretty things if they’re for you to wear when we have sex?” he asked softly.

That made Lan Zhan pause. Wei Wuxian seemed to understand what Lan Zhan wanted out of the relationship… well, no, of _course_ he understood because Lan Zhan had said it very clearly. He didn’t want a mate. If Wei Wuxian still had sex with him right after he said that, then that meant they were on the same page. And if he wanted to buy Lan Zhan pretty things to wear during sex to make him look more appealing, then who was he to say no? It wasn’t a gift meant to sway him towards dating, right?

“Okay,” he said.

Wei Wuxian felt giddy that he had found some kind of loophole. Lan Zhan didn’t want him to buy him things but he knew Lan Zhan liked feeling desired and if pretty things were going to make him feel more desired when they had sex, then he would get away with buying him things.

“This means you want to have sex again?” he said.

Lan Zhan sighed. He didn’t understand how Wei Wuxian felt so unsure of himself; as attractive as he was and as much as Lan Zhan had laid himself out, why would he think he would call it quits after just once?

“You remember what I said I wanted you to do?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, looking down at Lan Zhan. “Uh… cum inside you…?”

Lan Zhan gave him an incredulous look. “I want you to think about me at night and then come fuck me awake,” he reminded him. “I wasn’t joking.”

“Oh! _Oh._ ” Wei Wuxian took a deep breath. “Yes. Okay. Uh. I can very much do that. I will… I will just come through your window… I guess? You’ll have to make sure the barrier is down.”

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but smile a little, feeling excited. “It will be if it doesn’t get too much colder,” he said. He liked his room being cold and to have multiple blankets on his bed. He liked the spring because he could keep his window open.

“Speaking of which… I should probably get us back to campus, huh? Lest anyone thinks I kidnapped you or something hahaha…” Wei Wuxian said. He reluctantly sat up in the bed and fumbled for his pants.

Lan Zhan hummed. He stayed where he was for a moment, just watching him. He rubbed his legs together and felt the cum slide inside him. A purr slipped out of him but he cut it off quickly and used his foot to pull his underwear over to him so he could pull them back on.

Wei Wuxian redressed himself quickly and efficiently, then brushed himself off. He suddenly felt conscious of the way that he looked, especially if he was going to face Lan Zhan’s family when they got back.

Lan Zhan was a little sore when he stood up; he had walked a lot the day before and had moved in ways he wasn’t completely used to, plus he hurt along his inside walls where Wei Wuxian’s cock had stretched him out. But he hoped that with time he would get used to that girth and would eventually be able to take his knot.

He knew he would be aching all the way back to campus. It was a long uphill walk and he would rather die than ask Wei Wuxian to carry him like he had the night before. He asked the innkeeper to order a carriage to take them back up the hill and added that to his bill he would take to his uncle, and the innkeeper kindly said he wouldn’t mention the single room or their suspicious scents if asked.

Lan Zhan made sure to tell Wei Wuxian that he had to mention he paid for his own room when he spoke to Lan Zhan’s family. They couldn’t do much about their scents. They both still smelled a bit like arousal and slick but by the time they got to the top of the hill it was dampened from the wind blowing on them. He just hoped they had enough time to change clothes before someone cornered them. He was _sure_ some alphas would smell Wei Wuxian from a mile away with their perverted noses. What would they think when they found out he had taken Lan Zhan’s virginity? Would they cause trouble or look at him with respect? Mock him, maybe?

Thankfully no one was waiting for them when they came through the gates. Lan Zhan walked straight to his building, intending to take a bath and then nap for a while in his nest.

Wei Wuxian was equally eager to part ways. He waved to Lan Zhan as he hurried off to the alpha dorms, hoping he didn’t run into anyone who would find his scent suspicious. Of course, many alphas turned their heads towards him when he walked past and they murmured amongst themselves. They knew.

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Wanyin said. He was waiting for him in his room, giving Wei Wuxian quite the fright when he walked inside. “Where have you been all night?”

“Gods! Give me a scare why don’t you?” he huffed. He shut the door behind him and casually began to strip, kicking off his boots and then peeling off his jacket. It was vital that he got out of these clothes as quickly as possible and washed them to get the scent out.

“You stink,” Jiang Wanyin said as his shirt flew in his direction. “Seriously, where the fuck have you been?”

Wei Wuxian shook his head. He’d stripped down to his underwear and collected a fresh set of clothes. “I can’t tell you.”

“What the fuck?”

“Seriously! I was… out.”

“With an omega all night?”

“Maybe.”

Jiang Wanyin took a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I swear to the Gods, if it’s that omega boy you’ve been following around like a lost puppy.”

Wei Wuxian took to the side and didn’t reply.

“It is!” Jiang Wanyin accused. “I can’t believe you! You know he’s the headmaster’s nephew? Do you want to die?”

“You can’t say anything!”

“I won’t, I won’t. Jeez, who do you think I am?”

Wei Wuxian let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, thank you. Now, I’m going to get a bath so go away.”

“Right. Whatever. Just don’t get into any shit or I’ll have to beat you up myself,” Jiang Wanyin grumbled and walked past him and out the door.

Wei Wuxian was glad to see him leave. He didn’t want more people to know than necessary. It still hadn’t quite sunk in, the reality of what had happened. He and Lan Zhan, they had… they had sex. And he stunk like him. His sweet scent…

He scrubbed himself clean in the bath, being extra careful to get every last bit of his body and wash away the scent of slick and arousal lingering on him. Then, he got out to dry off and put on a fresh set of clothes.

Lan Xichen had seen the two enter from his perch on the fourth floor of the alpha building. He was relieved that they had returned; Lan Xichen had been worried he would have to go to the city and search for them. He waited a little while and then went over to his brother’s building. He had a key to all of the dorms, so he could just walk right in.

He knocked on Lan Zhan’s door at the top and waited for the soft voice telling him to come in. Lan Zhan was nowhere to be seen, but the sound of water splashing told Lan Xichen that he was in the bath behind the privacy screen. He went to sit at the low table a little ways away from it.

“We were worried when you didn’t come to breakfast,” he said. “Did you get locked out?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan answered.

“Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“No, I’m fine.” Lan Zhan sounded like he was in a good mood, which eased Lan Xichen’s mind.

“Okay,” he said. “I’m surprised you got so carried away even though Su Ming got a headache and didn’t go.” His tone had a teasing edge; he was sure Su Ming hadn’t even planned to go at all.

There was a pause, then Lan Zhan said, “He’s not courting me.”

Lan Xichen smiled. “Alright,” he said. “Whatever you say. Make sure he knows that.”

“He does. I told him I don’t want a mate. He agreed.”

Lan Xichen stood up. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you alone,” he said. He slowly made his way back down the stairs and then back to the alpha dorms.

He knew all of the alphas in his building, since he was essentially the supervisor, and he knew where each one was located. He stopped in front of Wei Wuxian’s door and knocked three times. He was sure he had been expecting a visit. He _should_ be expecting a visit, anyway.

“Young Master Wei?” he asked. “Is now a good time?”

Wei Wuxian was combing through his wet hair when he heard the knock. He was dressed in a thin robe, tied loosely, and a pair of matching shorts. The sound of Lan Xichen’s voice didn’t surprise him. He knew that Lan Zhan’s family was going to be paying him a visit sooner or later.

“You can come in,” he called back.

Lan Xichen entered the room and sat down on the bed, resting his chin on his hand and giving Wei Wuxian a cheery smile.

“My baby brother is an adult,” he began, “but I still worry when he leaves campus with an alpha and says he will return before curfew but does not.”

“Yes, I understand and I’m sorry. I should have been more responsible but I didn’t have the heart to stop him if he was having fun. It’s rare that he actually smiles, you know?” Wei Wuxian said, smiling back at him and continuing to comb his hair.

Lan Xichen hummed thoughtfully. “It _is_ rare,” he said. “I’m surprised you managed to pull one out of him. What did you do if I may ask? I guess you didn’t just go to dinner.”

Wei Wuxian laughed a little and looked away. “Well… I know a magical transference spell. So, I can pump magic into Lan Zhan and it helps his life magic. That’s how we’re making all the fruits and stuff grow in the greenhouse? We tried it on a bush and something Lan Zhan did seemed to make the pigments in the flowers really _pop_. He was so excited about it. Oh, I drew him a picture as well.”

Lan Xichen’s eyes widened a little. “Oh, that’s interesting,” he said. “He loves that magic. I can see why he would want to stay out then.” He tilted his head. “Lan Zhan insisted that you are not courting him but for some reason I find that hard to believe,” he said.

“Well… Not for lack of trying,” Wei Wuxian confessed. He put his comb down and glanced at Lan Xichen. “I won’t lie to you, I would like to court him. But we’ve talked about it and he doesn’t seem interested in being courted so… I’m not going to push or do anything untoward if you’re worried about that. I’d just like to look out for him, if that’s okay.”

Lan Xichen nodded. "I understand the need," he said. "It's a lot of work, but if he willingly spends an entire evening with you then that means a lot." He stood up and adjusted his robes. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you understand that we would appreciate a warning in advance next time. Especially if you want to stay on Uncle's good side."

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. “I’ll do my best. I’m uh, I’m glad Lan Zhan has an older brother who cares about him so much.”

Lan Xichen gave him a smile as he went to the door. "It's hard not to," he said. "You take care, Wei Wuxian."

When he left, Wei Wuxian breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad he hadn’t probed too much about where they stayed or anything like that, he didn’t want to have to lie too much. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him after all.


	8. Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: painful sex (those pesky knots, amirite?)
> 
> Smut tag: more low-key somnophilia

Lan Zhan spent the rest of the day napping and preparing a new pot to plant an orange tree in. He was curious about that blue flower and whether he had the capability of changing a plant’s color, but he didn’t know where to start, so he just wrote a few questions in his notebook to take to the library later and see if he could dig up any information to help.

That night he lay in bed thinking about Wei Wuxian. He took his time teasing himself and going through the memory of his body. He was so warm and his skin felt so nice to touch... he liked his hands and how they squeezed his sides, how his fingers fit so well inside him. He thought about Wei Wuxian’s sounds, how he said his name and how he moaned and gasped.

He thought about Wei Wuxian pushing him onto the bed face-first and weighing him down with his body, growling in his ear. That was when Lan Zhan really started touching himself. He imagined all sorts of similar scenarios: Wei Wuxian knocking him to the floor of his room, holding him down with a single hand while fucking him, maybe laying on top of him and trapping him while gripping his hips with both hands... he came three times that night before he was tired enough to fall asleep.

By Monday, Lan Zhan had planted his orange tree and was slowly working on getting it to grow. He made his way to the library with his notebook and bag full of personal books on life magic. He was walking quickly since he knew exactly where he wanted to go to get the books he was looking for. There was a guy standing right in the middle of the row and Lan Zhan expected him to move when he noticed him approaching, but he didn’t. Unbothered, Lan Zhan pushed himself between the guy’s back and the shelf to get through.

Jiang Wanyin took no notice of Lan Zhan, not until he felt him shoving past him. He let out a sharp growl and turned to yell obscenities at whoever had been so rude but he stopped when he noticed Lan Zhan.

“Hey. You,” he said. “You’re that omega that’s been messing around with my brother.”

Lan Zhan stopped and turned around, giving Jiang Wanyin a once-over. He had never seen him this close before. He was pretty attractive -- not nearly at Wei Wuxian's level, but he was quite above the majority of other alphas. He was a hot head, though Lan Zhan had figured that out a long time ago. That was easy to see from far away.

"Yes," he said. He was tempted to keep walking, but part of him was curious about Jiang Wanyin. He was so unlike Wei Wuxian.

“Listen. I know Wei Wuxian is stupid as hell but don’t mess him around, okay?” Jiang Wanyin said with a scowl. He looked Lan Zhan up and down as well. “He never shuts up about you, it’s fucking annoying. I don’t care if you’ve got a pussy or not, I’ll kick your ass if you hurt him though, got it?”

Lan Zhan scowled back at him. He didn't know if he was capable of hurting Wei Wuxian at this point, the man seemed immune to him. "I'd like to see you try," he said honestly.

Jiang Wanyin didn’t hesitate to reach out and grab Lan Zhan by the collar of his robes, yanking him towards him and growling at him. He treated him no different than he would another alpha, even if that sweet scent was almost overpowering.

“You think I won’t beat your ass? You weigh nothing, I could snap your arms like twigs,” he said.

Lan Zhan didn't break eye contact, though his scent changed to fear and arousal as his pupils dilated and he licked his lips. He tensed up and clamped down on his scent to keep it from going everywhere.

If Wei Wuxian wasn't in the equation he would probably have tried to seduce Jiang Wanyin. He didn't give him the same dangerous energy that a lot of alphas gave him and scared him with. Maybe it was his proximity to Wei Wuxian, or maybe it was the fact that he never hung out with the _bad_ alphas and seemed to hate them just from the few times Lan Zhan had watched him. Jiang Wanyin had a nice ass and Lan Zhan liked that fire in his eyes, but he was sure he could squeeze an equal amount of fight out of Wei Wuxian.

And between the two of them, it was obvious which one he preferred.

"Did you and Wei Wuxian wrestle a lot growing up?" he asked in a whisper. He was curious about how much experience Wei Wuxian had in that type of thing.

When Jiang Wanyin detected a slight shift in scent, he let go of Lan Zhan. This guy was so weird.

“What kind of question is that?” he asked. He shook his head. “Yes, we did. Wrestling, playfighting, all of that shit. Why, did he say something to you? Is that why you think I can’t kick your ass? I put Wei Wuxian in his place most of the time, I’ll have you know.”

Lan Zhan’s lips twitched and he tried to fight against the amused smile that threatened to take over. He would have to try and wrestle Wei Wuxian at some point. He had a good floor mat across his room for that. He wasn’t very _strong,_ but he had been practicing various martial arts since he was a child and there probably wasn’t a single omega on campus that Lan Zhan couldn’t defeat in less than a minute. He’d bested quite a few alphas too in his life. He had a few tricks up his sleeve, he might be able to last a while against an alpha like Wei Wuxian.

“Anyway, whatever, I’m going to choose to ignore that weird question. My point still stands. If I ever hear of Wei Wuxian crying over you, I’m coming for you,” Jiang Wanyin said and then turned back around to search for the book he had been looking for.

“He probably will,” Lan Zhan said, suddenly serious. “If he’s as stubborn as he seems.”

Jiang Wanyin clicked his tongue but otherwise chose to ignore him. Wei Wuxian had really gotten himself into a mess.

Lan Zhan waited for a moment, but when Jiang Wanyin had nothing else to say he turned around and continued down the row to go find the books he wanted. He wasn’t scared, mostly because he and Wei Wuxian were on the same page. If he had emotional issues down the line, it wasn’t Lan Zhan’s fault.

He picked out a few books and found a spot in a side room of the library that had a fluffy fur rug and cushions to relax on. He laid out his materials and started reading about plant anatomy. He had a suspicion that he had unlocked a new avenue of his magic while he was drunk, and he wanted to see where it might lead.

Wei Wuxian hadn’t stopped thinking about Lan Zhan since their night together at the inn. He occasionally saw him while he walked between classes, but he hadn’t had the chance to properly speak to him. Even so, he remembered his preposition. After all, he’d spent many nights laying in bed and thinking of how Lan Zhan had felt around him. He’d been so hot…tight… _wet._ And he seemed to enjoy every minute of it. He’d been perfect for him. He would have to take the opportunity to taste him at some point. That was how he ended up with his hand in his pants.

He crept out in the dead of the night a few nights later and summoned the tentacles to push him up onto Lan Zhan’s windowsill. He hoped that he’d left the barrier down.

And as it turned out, he had. It was a cool night, not cold, and Lan Zhan had buried himself under five blankets and was sleeping curled up warm and cozy in his bed even as the open window let the cool air in. He had a towel under his body which was still damp from his earlier activities, and his underwear was somewhere at the bottom of the bed. His silk night robe was the only thing between his body and the sheets.

Admittedly, it felt a little creepy to be waltzing into Lan Zhan’s bedroom while he slept, but he’d quite literally asked for this. He had been serious, right? Wei Wuxian severely hoped so as he climbed in through the window and the tentacles dissipated. He padded over to the bed and took a second just to drink in the sight of Lan Zhan all cosy in bed, peacefully sleeping. It was easily one of the best sights in the world. At least, behind seeing him moan and writhe on his cock.

Wei Wuxian kicked off his boots and set them to one side so he could carefully climb into the bed behind Lan Zhan. He nestled up behind him, nosing at his neck and pushing his hair to one side so he could leave a gentle kiss there. His breath hitched as he felt the silk robe covering his skin. He slid his hand down, caressing the naked skin of his thigh before slowing hitching up the material to dip his fingers between his legs.

A soft noise left Lan Zhan as he woke up, feeling cool hands on his body. He gasped a little and he started to panic, but a second later he registered Wei Wuxian’s scent and relaxed, a sense of comfort and contentedness coming over him.

He made a satisfied noise and arched his back while reaching behind him to feel Wei Wuxian’s face and pet his head. His fingers reeked of slick still from before he went to sleep earlier. Using his other hand he grabbed the pillow he wasn’t using and dragged it down to push between his legs and open them up and give Wei Wuxian easier entry.

“Morning beautiful,” Wei Wuxian mumbled against his skin. He was relieved that Lan Zhan seemed receptive to the touches and he let out a soft croon. His fingers sought out his vaginal opening and he was a little surprised to find him already wet, remnants of slick already there. Had he been touching himself earlier that night? It would explain the towel. Wei Wuxian rubbed up and down for a few moments before he sunk a finger inside that wet heat.

The croon brought out a purr in Lan Zhan. He held his breath and tried to keep it in, but there was no stopping it. Crooning was easy for him to do and stop at will, usually when he was in heat, but once his body was set on purring he couldn’t stop it. It was annoying, but he resigned himself to it. Wei Wuxian felt so good against his back, lips on his neck, fingers between his legs. He was warm and cozy and sleepy and everything was right in the world.

Wei Wuxian continued to kiss and nibble at his neck. He thrust his finger in and out before adding a second and straightening them up. Then, he increased the speed, remembering how Lan Zhan had liked it hard and fast last time.

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath and tensed up, the purr finally dying in his throat. He hadn’t been completely aroused yet but as the seconds went on he got hard and opened up more to Wei Wuxian’s fingers. He turned his head to bury his face in his pillow and hugged his stuffed animal before he reached down to touch himself, making the fire burn even hotter.

"You feel so good," Wei Wuxian whispered in his ear. He ran his tongue over his earlobe as he fucked his fingers in faster, then pressed his chest fully up against his back, grinding his hardening cock against the small of his back.

Lan Zhan pressed back against it, a shiver running through him when he remembered what it felt like to sit on it. Unfortunately he would need to take his time before trying it again. He had been gradually getting used to three of his own fingers, but it always ached unless he spent a long time with two first. He wasn’t used to _waiting._

“Slow down,” he whispered. “Tease me.”

Before Wei Wuxian could obey, Lan Zhan pulled his fingers out of him and then turned around to face him. He laid his hand on the side of his face and kissed him slowly, savoring the feeling. He had missed this.

Wei Wuxian was more than happy to kiss back. He hadn't been expecting Lan Zhan to want to take things slow, it felt strangely intimate. He had a feeling that Lan Zhan would reject him if he called this making love.

Lan Zhan took Wei Wuxian’s hand and brought it back between his legs, while he lifted his top leg up to lay over Wei Wuxian’s hip. He took hold of one finger and pushed it inside him along with one of his own to guide him. He curled it in and dragged it down achingly slow, then pushed it back up, making swooping pressure on his sweet spot.

“Like this,” he whispered against Wei Wuxian’s lips. “Sometimes you can... suddenly go fast for a few seconds but then slow down again. I want to... see how long it will take me to cum.”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian whispered back. He kissed him again and repeated the motions that Lan Zhan had showed him, watching his face for his reaction.

Lan Zhan snuggled into Wei Wuxian to get comfortable and closed his eyes, his hand wrapping around his shaft. He pulled it upwards and then thumbed at the head for a moment, then went back down again. It was all so slow and relaxing. That annoying purr started back up but he ignored it, choosing to focus on Wei Wuxian’s aroused scent and the fingers inside him, and the feeling of his body in front of him.

"Good boy," Wei Wuxian praised quietly. He kept pushing his fingers in at the steady pace, curling them against his sweet spot, then gradually speeding up for a few moments before going back to the slower pace.

Lan Zhan smiled a little in amusement at the praise, though it was wiped off when Wei Wuxian went faster. His body buzzed when he slowed down again, and Lan Zhan loved the way it simmered.

“You’re serving me, not the other way around,” he murmured. “I’m not the good boy here.”

“Are you going to tell me that I’m a good boy instead then?” Wei Wuxian teased, a smirk pulling on his lips. He wanted to hear him say it.

Lan Zhan considered it. He opened his eyes and moved to look at Wei Wuxian thoughtfully. He was mellowed out by the steady pleasure of Wei Wuxian’s fingers inside him.

“You’re being a good boy,” he said eventually.

Admittedly, Wei Wuxian’s cock twitched at that and he figured that Lan Zhan must’ve been able to detect the change in scent. He crooned again, keeping the same rhythmic pace that he had been doing inside Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan leaned in and kissed him, nibbling and licking on his bottom lip. The croon was relaxing and kind of made Lan Zhan want to melt into the bed. He loved this; the feeling of Wei Wuxian’s body and his hand and his mouth, these were sensations that were new and exciting and he never wanted it to stop.

“Do you like being a good boy?” he murmured, his lips brushing against Wei Wuxian’s.

“I do,” Wei Wuxian breathed. “I like being a good boy for you, Lan Zhan. I want to please you, serve you, make you happy. Make you _cum_.”

Lan Zhan liked the sound of that. He was perfectly happy with making Wei Wuxian serve him. He pushed him onto his back and climbed over him. He took Wei Wuxian’s hand and brought it down to his cock.

“Tease it,” he said.

Wei Wuxian nodded. He curled his fingers around Lan Zhan’s cock. It fit nicely in his hand, small enough that he could wrap his fingers the whole way around. He glided his fingers along the length of his shaft, pausing to rub gently under the head the way that he liked it on himself, then grazed over his weeping tip.

Lan Zhan let out a quiet, satisfied noise while he brought his hands up to slide into Wei Wuxian’s hair. He leaned down and kissed him the way he liked to, with nibbles and licks here and there. The fire inside him was burning a little hotter than it was a few minutes before, but he didn’t chase it. He wanted it to happen _to_ him even if he fought against it and tried to relax. Those were always the best orgasms, even if they took a while to get. He kissed and kissed until he was satisfied then ducked his head down to nest into Wei Wuxian’s neck.

“You’re being a good boy,” he whispered as encouragement.

Wei Wuxian inhaled shakily at the praise. There was nothing more perfect than the moans coming from Lan Zhan’s lips, the heat around his hands, and his pretty little words.

“Only for you,” he whispered back and gave the head of his cock a small squeeze.

Lan Zhan’s hips jerked a little and he breathed in slowly, trying to keep himself steady. He brought his knees further up and rolled his hips down with each slow press of those fingers. He was getting more worked up, but he did his best to keep it contained. He took Wei Wuxian’s earlobe between his teeth and pulled a little.

When he let go he whispered almost silently, “Would you do anything for me right now?”

“Anything,” Wei Wuxian immediately replied. He didn’t realise the weight of his words until after they had slipped out. What would Lan Zhan ask for? His heart thumped in his chest.

Lan Zhan nibbled lightly on Wei Wuxian’s ear while he thought. He hadn’t planned on giving him any commands, he just wanted to know that he could. But with how fast he’d replied, he couldn’t just leave it open-ended. Lan Zhan sat up, straddling him. “Take off your shirt,” he said.

Wei Wuxian scrambled to obey. He let go of Lan Zhan completely so he could remove the desired article of clothing. He’d never had a problem with people seeing him shirtless but in this kind of context, in front of Lan Zhan, he felt a little awkward. But he complied regardless and tossed his shirt to one side, presenting his bare chest to Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan gave him a pleased hum and went back to where he was, propping himself up on one forearm and using his free hand to run over Wei Wuxian’s chest. The muscles were hard... he went to squeeze his bicep. He never understood how alphas could get so much muscle easily. He considered himself to be quite strong for an omega but he was still skinny.

What would he look like as an alpha? Would he be like Wei Wuxian? Stronger, maybe, since he actively trained in martial arts multiple times per week.

Still deep in thought, he moved down a little to lick broadly over one nipple. It was hard due to the chill in the room. He reached out and reactivated the window barrier. It wouldn’t get warm fast, but hopefully in twenty or thirty minutes it wouldn’t be so cold in the room.

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched when his tongue laved over his nipple. He hadn’t been expecting that, that was for sure. It was an odd sensation but not necessarily a bad one. He ran his fingers through Lan Zhan’s hair and kept watching him, wondering what he was going to do next.

“You won’t get any milk from them,” he teased lightly.

Lan Zhan gave him a look, then he said, “That’s too bad.”

He took Wei Wuxian’s hands and guided them back down between his legs, wanting him to continue what he had been doing before. He licked over that nipple again, this time keeping his tongue pressed on it and rubbing it up and down. He liked playing with his own nipples sometimes, but they were very sensitive, so he never did more than rub gently. He had always wondered what it would feel like to have a tongue on them.

Wei Wuxian was happy to obey. He slipped two fingers back inside Lan Zhan and moved his other hand up and down his cock. He arched his back into Lan Zhan's mouth, making small breathy noises. "Having fun down there?"

Lan Zhan didn’t answer. He continued licking and rolled his hips in slow movements that matched the slide of Wei Wuxian’s fingers. He _liked_ those noises. He brought his hand over to rub his thumb over the other nipple, wanting to see if he would make more.

With each touch, Wei Wuxian's fingers twitched harder into Lan Zhan's pussy, letting out small gasps and moans as he did. He liked the attention, he was sensitive in places that he didn't realise he was.

Lan Zhan continued like that for a little while, rolling down on those fingers and laving his tongue over Wei Wuxian’s nipple. Eventually, though, the frustration was becoming overwhelming. It was a tense, burning sensation, and he compared it to a pot threatening to boil over. He wanted more, he wanted _release,_ but he didn’t want to chase it.

He sat up a little and worked on undoing Wei Wuxian’s pants. His body burned with arousal as pulled that thick cock out. With Wei Wuxian’s hands still working him, he wasn’t going to last much longer. He took a deep breath and tried to let the fire settle out, but it was difficult. He was so close to the edge, it was only his efforts to fight it that kept him from going overboard. He pulled Wei Wuxian’s fingers out and positioned himself before easing down a few inches.

It was a tight squeeze, and it seemed to fill him up completely and hit all the right spots. It was too much; the pot finally boiled over, the fire burned hot as he came _hard._ It forced its way through his body slowly, leaving him unable to move other than the shivers that took over. He fell forward and moaned into Wei Wuxian’s neck. This one lasted a while; probably ten or fifteen seconds passed before he went limp, his body still twitching a little.

“Wow…” Wei Wuxian breathed. He’d moaned when Lan Zhan sunk on his cock but he hadn’t been expecting him to convulse and shake like that almost immediately afterwards. It was insanely hot to think that sitting on his cock had been all he needed to cum.

Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around his waist and gently manoeuvred them, sitting up and then laying Lan Zhan on his back with Wei Wuxian on top of him. He did not move inside him just yet, leaning down to kiss his jaw and neck and untie his night robe so he could run his hands all over his sensitive skin.

“I’ll only move when you’re ready,” he whispered.

Lan Zhan tiredly grabbed the pillows and positioned them on either side of him so he could let his legs rest against them and not have to hold them up. He felt so exposed even under the protection of the blankets, but Wei Wuxian’s hands on his body made it worth it. He grabbed his stuffed animal and pulled it close. He wanted to know if he could make Wei Wuxian obey him and do what he had done for himself, teasing until he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“You can move out but not in until I say,” he said.

Wei Wuxian hummed in agreement. He nuzzled against his neck squeezed his sides before he slowly pulled almost all the way out of him. Then, he looked up at his face expectantly, waiting to be told he could thrust back in.

Lan Zhan liked this level of control. It was fun, and it gave him a rush. He would let him move on his own at some point, but at first he wanted to have his fill of this. “Go slow,” he said softly. “In.”

At the command, Wei Wuxian pressed back all the way inside, groaning as he did. He’d surely never tire of that amazing wet heat around him. Lan Zhan was perfect in every way. “As you wish,” he mumbled.

Lan Zhan pulled in a breath as he was filled up again. It felt so nice, so _right._ He instructed him again and again with a quiet _out_ and _in_ every three or four seconds. He loved this, Wei Wuxian sneaking into his bed in the middle of the night and fucking him nice and slow. Something about being woken up from sleep in a warm and cozy bed in the dark made him want to take it easy, savor every lazy, sleepy moment. It was like he didn’t want to break the silence and peace of the night. He told Wei Wuxian to go out again but paused, wondering if he would still obey.

Wei Wuxian did, but not without whining a little: “Lan Zhan… How much longer of this? You feel so good around me, it’s hard to hold back. Have mercy on me, won’t you? Let me… mmm… Let me show you how much I like being inside you.”

“Be a good boy and wait,” Lan Zhan said. He would let him go soon enough, he knew Wei Wuxian was near his limit of patience, but he wanted to see if he would ultimately yield.

That only made Wei Wuxian whine louder. He wasn’t about to disobey Lan Zhan completely, not yet, but he was free to complain about it.

“Lan Zhan _please_ ,” he whined. “How do you expect a man to wait like this? I don’t think you realise what you do to us. You’re so gorgeous and perfect around me… I just wanna… shit, I need to feel you better than this.”

“I’m a man too,” Lan Zhan reminded him. “Have patience.”

Of course, that thought led him onto a whole other unrelated train. He thought it was interesting that Wei Wuxian was so compliant and willing to serve him. When talking to other omegas, he had never heard any of them mention bossing around their alphas or taking any sort of dominant approach.

He always attributed his own dominant side to the fact that he was a man — generally when a common omega thing didn’t match him, he assumed it was because of his gender. He didn’t actually know what the average differences were between omega men and women, or alpha and omega men for that matter. He had always been lumped in with omega girls because of his scent and his heats and generally softer appearance, but he was still very much a man and he had always been hyper-aware of the obvious or potential differences between him and his omega peers, especially the ones that had nothing to do with their physical bodies.

It sometimes led to confusion over where he was positioned in certain concepts, such as motherhood or fatherhood. He usually had thoughts along the lines of being a terrible _mother,_ mostly because the vast majority of things related to giving birth were geared toward women. When referring to his potential parental future, other people usually said one or the other, and it depended on their own perceptions of him and of the concepts of motherhood and fatherhood. But personally, there were these ideas about motherly and fatherly qualities and he seemed to be lacking in all of them.

He noticed himself going down a self-deprecating train of thought, so he reeled himself back. He ran his hands up Wei Wuxian’s chest and behind his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, trying to ground himself again. He should probably try to stretch himself out more with Wei Wuxian inside him. When he let go of him he brought one hand down and carefully slipped in a finger above Wei Wuxian’s cock. He let himself adjust to it, then he added another one. If he could get three in laying flat against his inner wall, _maybe_ he could take the knot. He said, “You can do as you wish.”

It was incredibly arousing to see Lan Zhan push his fingers inside himself alongside his cock, the friction felt good. Wei Wuxian kissed him again and slid his hands down his sides to grasp his hips as leverage. He started to push in and out at his own leisurely pace, not going too fast or too hard, but maintaining a steady, pleasurable rhythm. “You’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met,” Wei Wuxian mumbled in his ear when he pulled away from the kiss. He kissed under his ear and let one of his hands come around to lightly brush over Lan Zhan’s cock, running his fingers up the length of it and then teasing the tip.

Lan Zhan bit his lip and made a breathy moaning sound. He felt so stretched open, but he still squeezed one more finger in alongside Wei Wuxian’s length. He curled them in and teased his sweet spot, and he couldn’t quite control the overwhelmed expression on his face.

Wei Wuxian couldn't tear his eyes away from Lan Zhan's face. He was so beautiful like this and he wanted to kiss him all over. Then, he whispered in his ear: "Do you want me to knot in you?"

“Yes,” Lan Zhan whimpered. His scent betrayed his anxiety about it, but he was determined to do it. He adjusted pretty fast before; it might hurt at first but surely he would get used to it.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips and nodded. He kissed all over his face before capturing his lips. It only took a few more thrusts for Wei Wuxian to begin falling over the edge. "I'm going to cum in you," he rasped. "I'm going to knot you, fill you up. Are you ready for my knot?"

“Yes,” Lan Zhan repeated, a desperate edge to his voice. His heart pounded against his ribcage. He wanted it, he wanted it _bad._

As per as his word, Wei Wuxian’s steady thrusts finally hit a peak. He moaned as his hips stuttered and he pressed as deep inside Lan Zhan as he could. In a desperate move, he pulled Lan Zhan’s fingers out of him so he could feel the space. He spilt hot into Lan Zhan, his knot slowly expanding around him. To help soothe him, Wei Wuxian wrapped his hand around Lan Zhan’s cock and stroked it.

Lan Zhan tensed up with a pained “Hnnnk— _fuck.”_

He grabbed Wei Wuxian’s shoulders and hung off of him, his legs wrapping around his waist. It _hurt_ and his body protested against it. He was so full, _too_ full, the pain made him shake and tears ran down his cheeks.

 _You’re not going to cry,_ he told himself, _come on, relax. Omegas do this all the time._ He slowly tried to force himself to relax, staring with his feet and knees, then his shoulders and neck. The extra stimulation helped distract him, but it was difficult to completely relax.

“It’s okay. You’ll get used to it,” Wei Wuxian mumbled against his skin. He kissed his neck and kept working his cock to ease some of the pain. It hurt him to hear Lan Zhan in pain like this, especially knowing that he caused it, but he’d asked for it.

Lan Zhan panted and let his head fall back and his hands drop from Wei Wuxian’s shoulders. He could tell that the reason for the pain was his body clamping down on the knot — he didn’t feel any tearing. When he put his hand down there and felt around it with his magic, the only thing he found was tension. He just had to relax... somehow.

He decided to give up trying and just let it relax on its own. He focused on Wei Wuxian’s hand and his lips on his neck. If he stayed perfectly still and didn’t move a muscle, the pain subsided, but it came back when he shifted. At least it was getting better.

“Are you okay?” Wei Wuxian asked after a moment longer. He pulled back from his neck to lean his forehead against his and brushed a hand through his hair, tucking a lock behind his ear.

“Mn.” Lan Zhan carefully let his legs fall against the pillows to the sides. It was okay now, but every now and then it would tense up again for a few seconds and he’d have to try and ignore it. Thinking about it made it worse.

“Just don’t move.”

“I won’t,” Wei Wuxian replied. He kissed him softly and squeezed the head of his cock. He had doubts that he could get him to cum again but if it helped with the pain, it was worth it.

As good as it felt, Lan Zhan wasn’t sure if an orgasm would help or harm the situation. The more he tensed up the more his inner walls spasmed and hurt, but maybe if he got through an orgasm he would relax?

“Go fast,” he said, wrapping his arms and legs around Wei Wuxian again. He could feel himself clamping down again and he let it, just bearing through it.

Wei Wuxian obeyed. He moved his hand quickly up and down Lan Zhan’s cock and used every trick he knew to tease it.

Lan Zhan gasped and gripped him tight. It seemed to get worse the more he tensed up, but it also felt good with the intense stimulation. With Wei Wuxian’s hand going that fast, it didn’t take him too long to finish. He shivered and clung desperately to Wei Wuxian. It was a powerful orgasm, the kind that bordered the line between pleasure and pain. He felt boneless afterwards, collapsing back on the bed with a sigh. His body buzzed with the aftermath of it and it was a little easier to relax.

“You did so well,” Wei Wuxian said. He smiled down at Lan Zhan. “I thought it’d take more times than this for you to be able to take my knot.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He was proud of himself for going through it despite being nervous. Hopefully it wouldn’t hurt like that from that point forward. He just needed to get used to relaxing his muscles when they tried to clamp up.

“How are you feeling?” Wei Wuxian asked. He kissed his cheek and nuzzled against him. He was hoping that Lan Zhan wouldn’t mind this kind of intimacy even though the main act was done.

“Okay,” Lan Zhan answered. Now that he wasn’t in pain, he could fully enjoy the sensation. It was nice; he felt full. “What does it feel like?” he asked curiously.

"Good. Really good. You're tight and warm... and wet. Feels like it's... _right_ , that we're supposed to be like this," Wei Wuxian tried to explain. He purposely avoided saying anything about how he liked being close to Lan Zhan like this, how it made his heart race.

Lan Zhan wiggled a little and hugged his stuffed animal to get more comfortable. “We are,” he whispered sleepily, closing his eyes. “I like having you inside me. Like you belong there. Your fingers too.”

Wei Wuxian hummed, rubbing Lan Zhan's sides soothingly. He liked the sound of that. Apparently having sex with Lan Zhan was the right way forward. Then, he looked at the stuffed animal he was holding.

"What's the name of the stuffed animal?"

Lan Zhan opened his eyes and blinked a few times. His stuffed animal? He looked at it. He hadn’t thought about its name in a while.

“Blue,” he said. “It’s my oldest one. My father gave it to me as a child.”

"He's cute," Wei Wuxian mumbled. He liked to see Lan Zhan with the stuffed animal, it was really cute. Did Lan Zhan realise how sweet he looked right now?

Lan Zhan watched Wei Wuxian for a moment, wondering what he was thinking. He looked to all the way across his room where his nest sat. It was so dark in the room, but he could see the outline of the pyramid roof.

“I have a lot more,” he said. “I made one a few weeks ago.”

"You like stuffed animals huh?" Wei Wuxian asked. It was unlike Lan Zhan, it didn't seem to fit with everything else he knew about him. There had to be a deeper side to him and he was determined to pry it out.

Lan Zhan hummed. He had twenty-seven of them altogether. All of them were in his nest aside from Blue. He took Blue in there sometimes, but usually it stayed on the bed. “I like making things,” he said softly, closing his eyes again. “Why I chose life magic.”

"That makes sense," Wei Wuxian said. He took a deep breath and shifted as his knot slowly began to deflate. Once it had finally gone down, he pulled out.

Lan Zhan pouted slightly. It had just started feeling good... he could have fallen asleep like that. He shifted around, feeling too empty. Well, hopefully he would get to feel it a lot more in the future — and hopefully it wouldn’t hurt. He did notice a heavy ache down there, probably from the forceful stretching.

"I suppose I need to go before morning," Wei Wuxian replied with a hum. He shuffled to lay next to Lan Zhan and ran his fingers over his chest.

Lan Zhan tilted his body slightly to the side and wiggled around a little to get comfortable against him. He hugged his stuffed animal and closed his eyes. He didn’t mind Wei Wuxian’s presence right then; he was warm and comfortable.

Wei Wuxian couldn't fight the smile from his lips as Lan Zhan curled around him. He wrapped his arms around him and leaned his face against his head. "You smell really good right now."

Lan Zhan hummed, only paying half attention. He liked being close to Wei Wuxian, he decided. “What do I smell like?” he asked.

"Sweet... Like I want to eat you right up," Wei Wuxian said. He chuckled and started kissing all over Lan Zhan's face, then down his neck. Then he climbed back over him and continued to kiss every bit of skin he could reach.

Lan Zhan rolled onto his back again and stretched, his legs straightening out and his hands coming up to beside his head while he arched his back. It was hard to sleep with this distraction, but he was so comfortable and he didn’t mind. He could sleep in.

Wei Wuxian looked down at Lan Zhan all stretched out and sleepy underneath him on the sheets. He knew that he could live like this for the rest of his life. If only Lan Zhan was more receptive to his romantic advances.

Lan Zhan gazed up at Wei Wuxian, blinking slowly, and a rare yet small smile graced his features. As sleepy and content as he was, he was a little more honest than usual. “I can’t believe I’m not a virgin anymore,” he whispered.

"Me too. I never thought that it would be like this," Wei Wuxian replied. He stroked Lan Zhan's cheek. It was wonderful to see that smile on his face. "Are you... happy though?"

Lan Zhan nodded, his eyelids drooping. “A lot of omegas say their first time was bad,” he murmured. “Mine was amazing.”

Wei Wuxian didn't hesitate after that to lean down and capture Lan Zhan's lips. He kissed him passionately, drinking in every bit of him that he could. There was no describing the overwhelming joy he felt hearing him say that. "I'm glad," he whispered against his lips.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth and licked Wei Wuxian’s lip. “Good that I don’t have to compete with anyone,” he whispered.

"I'm not interested in any of the omega girls. Last time I checked you were the only omega boy here," Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh. He pecked him on the lips again. "Really though, I'm happy. I was so worried that I'd do something stupid and you'd laugh at me. But... I guess things turned out well after all."

Lan Zhan smiled a little, closing his eyes. “You’re really good at it,” he said. “You help me cum. And you do as you’re told.”

"Be a good boy for me and I'll be a good boy for you," Wei Wuxian replied. He hummed as he admired Lan Zhan, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "And I want to give you as many orgasms as you're capable of having."

That made Lan Zhan smile more and he made a satisfied noise. “You don’t know what you’re signing up for,” he said, opening his eyes again to look at Wei Wuxian. “You’d be surprised at how many that is.”

"Sounds like a challenge," Wei Wuxian said with a slight grin. He loved that this meant this arrangement was going to continue.

Lan Zhan stretched again with a soft moan. “You’re welcome to give me orgasms every day,” he said, that sly smile still on his face. “Do all the work for me.”

Wei Wuxian laughed again and then sat back on his haunches. He didn't want to leave but the risk of being caught in the omega dorms come morning was too high. "You want me every day? That can be arranged."

“There’s a way you can get in during the day and not get caught but only if you’re determined,” Lan Zhan said, pulling the sides of his robe around his body when his external source of warmth left.

"What is it?" Wei Wuxian asked, cocking an eyebrow. He did want to see Lan Zhan as much as possible but if he got caught, it could be detrimental to their relationship.

“The building is close to the wall around campus,” Lan Zhan explained, “The window over by my bath is closest to the wall, angled away from the rest of campus. If you go outside campus and then climb the wall right there and come down on the other side, then climb the window, no one will see you unless they’re on this side of campus and no one comes over here.”

"So... in theory, I could stay here tonight and we could cuddle then maybe have sex again in the morning, _then_ I could leave over the wall?" Wei Wuxian suggested.

Lan Zhan tilted his head. He hadn’t thought of that possibility. “Yes,” he said, “if you’re okay saying you left campus last night before curfew. Remember that the wall has a barrier on it from nine to five in the morning.”

"Well, I could leave after five right? I could have gone out this morning, how would they know?" Wei Wuxian said, tilting his head to one side. "I'll be careful, I promise."

Lan Zhan nodded and closed his eyes again while he reached out to pull Wei Wuxian back again. “Keep me warm, it’s cold without the blankets,” he complained.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and nodded. He laid back down on the bed and pulled Lan Zhan into his arms, then he grabbed the covers and pulled them over them so they could snuggle up together. He planted a soft kiss on Lan Zhan's forehead.

Lan Zhan heaved a big sigh and wiggled around until he was comfortable. He liked how warm Wei Wuxian was. He reached out to take down the barrier on the window and let the cool air blow in. He was still buzzing with satisfaction from the sex and he had no problem falling back asleep.

For a moment, Wei Wuxian watched Lan Zhan sleep peacefully in his arms. He couldn't have felt more at peace. So, he smiled. He closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep too.


	9. Happy Mornings and Orange Trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut tag: one more time for the low-key somnophilia

Lan Zhan woke up before the morning bell, though he felt groggy. He could tell it was getting close to first light because of the birds chirping outside. Wei Wuxian’s body was hot against his, almost uncomfortably so.

He carefully pried himself out of the alpha’s hold and got out of bed, igniting a few of the lights in the room. It was cold on his walk to the toilet room, but his skin was already hotter than usual so it wasn’t too bad. He went to the bath area and washed up in the sink. He watched Wei Wuxian’s sleeping form while he sat at the vanity and combed his hair.

He had enjoyed the previous night. He supposed he didn’t mind the cuddling either, not after the sex at least. He remembered the sound of his croon, how it made his scent just a little calmer and how it comforted Lan Zhan. He wouldn’t admit it but he liked that croon.

The morning bell rang and Lan Zhan glanced at the window to see the sky had become a more visible blue. Not quite sunrise yet.

Wei Wuxian stirred a little when he lost his warmth and he stirred again when the morning bell rang. He slowly sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and then stretching. His gaze shifted over to Lan Zhan by the vanity and he smiled, remembering that he was in Lan Zhan’s room and the night they’d had.

“Good morning beautiful,” he said in a sing-song voice.

Lan Zhan looked all over Wei Wuxian. He looked good without his shirt; his muscles were defined. He remembered being picked up and put on that pony...

Wei Wuxian pushed himself out of the bed and padded over to Lan Zhan where he wrapped his arms around his neck. He leaned down to press a wet kiss on his cheek and his jaw.

Before he knew it, Lan Zhan tilted his head to the side and bared his neck as he felt butterflies in his stomach. He caught himself in the mirror and snapped out of it. “Go clean up,” he said. “Then I’ll kiss you.”

“So needy,” Wei Wuxian said with a pout. He let go of Lan Zhan and met his gaze in the mirror as he unlaced his pants and slipped out of them. He shot him a wink and then sauntered off to the bath hidden behind the privacy screen.

Lan Zhan quickly turned around, gripping the back of his chair while he got a good look at Wei Wuxian’s ass as he walked away. He didn’t know why, but the sight brought out a dominant urge in him. He kind of wanted to tie him up.

“How are you feeling this morning? Are you achy?” Wei Wuxian asked him as he got in the tub. He’d made a big move to take his knot last night.

That was one way to put it. Lan Zhan felt pain a bit earlier when he got up, but it was easily taken care of with healing magic. He still ached, but it wasn’t too bad. He might have taken the stretching process a little too quickly, but he had enjoyed it in the end. He flipped his head down and tied his hair into a messy bun at the top of his head and then went over to the bath area. He untied his robe and made a little show of letting it drop before he climbed into the tub with him.

He hadn’t expected Wei Wuxian to _bathe,_ but he supposed he was also kind of gross from the night before. Not like they weren’t going to get dirty again. But Lan Zhan didn’t care.

“Nothing I can’t heal,” he answered quietly.

Wei Wuxian openly roved his eyes over Lan Zhan’s naked body as he stripped and then got into the tub with him. He smiled at him, noting how cute he was with his hair tied up like that.

“Can I kiss you yet?” he asked, shuffling a little closer.

Instead of answering, Lan Zhan reached for a couple of wash cloths and tossed one at Wei Wuxian. He got some soap and rubbed it on his cloth before he ran it over his face and neck. He had already cleaned his face earlier but there was no harm in doing it again. He liked the warm water on his cheeks.

Wei Wuxian took that as a no. He huffed and took the washcloth, put some soap on it, and started scrubbing himself clean.

Lan Zhan rubbed himself down. He liked taking baths, and not just to get clean. He often took them when he was tired or sad. The warmth and sensation of the washcloth felt nice. When he was bored with that, he finally floated over to Wei Wuxian and sat in his lap, his legs to one side and his arms draped around his neck. He looked all over his face and his gaze soon focused on his lips. Wei Wuxian had a nice mouth...

“Hello there,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He dropped the washcloth and wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist. Lan Zhan was so pretty up close… “Do I finally have the permission to kiss you?”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan hummed as he leaned in. He kissed Wei Wuxian lazily and slowly. He was still so sleepy; he would probably go back to sleep once Wei Wuxian left.

Wei Wuxian cupped Lan Zhan’s cheek and kissed him back. He loved kissing him so much. His other hand rubbed his side and then moved around to down his lower back.

Lan Zhan pulled his arms back to his chest and broke the kiss so he could lay his head on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder and close his eyes, curling more into a ball. He liked having those hands on him, feeling him, touching him. “Keep doing that,” he whispered.

“You like this?” Wei Wuxian asked softly He moved both hands down to rub his back, gliding gently over the soft skin and pulling him closer into his lap.

Lan Zhan snuggled against him to get more comfortable so he could rest. He really could fall asleep like that, warm and surrounded by Wei Wuxian. “I like your hands on my body,” he mumbled.

“Then I’ll keep them there,” Wei Wuxian mumbled in response. He kissed Lan Zhan’s cheek, then under his ear, and lightly over his neck.

Lan Zhan dozed for a little while like that. When he opened his eyes again it was lighter in the room, as if the sun had finally peeked over the horizon. He shifted a little and yawned. “I want you to help me with something,” he said before he could think against it.

Wei Wuxian blinked quickly. Lan Zhan asking him for help seemed rare. He liked to do things on his own for the most part and he’d only just started reluctantly getting Wei Wuxian involved in his life. He was not going to miss this opportunity. “Sure, what is it?” he asked.

Well, this was awkward. Lan Zhan was quiet for a moment. He didn’t mean to ask that, he had just been thinking about it lately. Well, he might as well keep going. “I’m trying to grow an orange tree,” he said.

“You want my magic to help?” Wei Wuxian asked, cocking his head to the side slightly. That wasn’t much different to what they’d already been doing together in the greenhouse, but it was different to have Lan Zhan ask rather than him offer his services.

“Mn.” Lan Zhan reached for a towel and moved away so he could stand up and get out of the bath and dry off. He had three different silk night robes all hanging on the wall, and he picked a medium blue one and put it on before letting his hair down again. He wouldn’t worry about getting dressed until later.

Wei Wuxian watched him get up and slip on the robe fondly. He followed suit soon after, getting out of the bath and drying off as well. Then, he picked up his abandoned pants to put those on.

Lan Zhan made his way across the floor mat and sat down by the pot where he has his orange tree. He had it in the corner of the room, positioned near his nest and on the other side of the window that the loquat tree was at. At the moment there wasn’t much of a tree. He had managed to grow it a little bit, but it was no taller than two feet. He didn’t expect it to get very big even with the biggest pot he had (he had even needed his brother to get the pot up the stairs for him when he got it and he needed a wooden platform to set it on) but he didn’t need a big tree. He just wanted it to have a couple of oranges at least.

“Is it going to be okay growing it in here?” Wei Wuxian asked as he walked over and looked at the orange tree that Lan Zhan was sat by. He’d noticed the plant prior but hadn’t paid it any mind until now.

Lan Zhan nodded. “I can give it what it needs,” he said. “...Except water. They only need sunlight for energy, I think. It took me five years to learn how to self-fertilize plants.” He reached into the soil and grabbed the little roots that had started to grow, and he sent his magic through.

Wei Wuxian put his hand on Lan Zhan’s arm, unable to help himself from gently rubbing his thumb over the soft skin, before taking a deep breath and letting his magic flow through Lan Zhan as well.

Lan Zhan watched intently as the tree got bigger. It grew taller and taller and the roots thickened in Lan Zhan’s hand. It was miraculous to see, and his breath stopped when the leaves started growing into a beautiful mesh of green. He couldn’t help but laugh with joy when he saw the little oranges swell.

Seeing Lan Zhan smile and laugh was always the highlight of Wei Wuxian’s day. He grinned himself as he watched the oranges grow and then couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms around Lan Zhan and peppering kisses all over his face.

“We did it,” he said between kisses. “You’re so amazing!”

Lan Zhan _giggled_ and then slapped a hand over his mouth in embarrassment, his ears burning. He pulled away from Wei Wuxian so he could stand up and get an orange from the tree. He hoped they tasted good... sometimes his food tasted janky out of season. He took off the barrier on the window and threw the peel out, then he took a piece and bit into it. It _was_ sweet and he hummed happily.

Lan Zhan’s giggle was going to play over and over in Wei Wuxian’s mind, he was sure. He reached out idly to wipe away a little bit of juice that had dribbled down Lan Zhan’s chin with a smile. “Is it good?” Wei Wuxian asked with a hum.

Lan Zhan nodded. He took a slice and held it up to Wei Wuxian’s lips. He wondered if he could get him to help with his other project. That was more particular than just growing a tree, though. He wasn’t entirely sure how changing plant colors worked. When he really figured it out, maybe he would feel more comfortable asking Wei Wuxian to help him then.

Wei Wuxian took the slice with his teeth when it was offered to him and happily ate it. He’d been right – it was very good! To think they’d managed to create that so fast… It was truly incredible. Lan Zhan could change the world with magic like that, and he’d be at his side the whole time.

Lan Zhan ate a few more slices and then slipped the rest of the orange into the pocket on his robe. He went up to Wei Wuxian and wrapped his arms around his neck, looking up at him through his lashes. Wei Wuxian was only a couple inches taller, not too bad. Lan Zhan tilted his head up, lips parted, and waited.

Wei Wuxian took the hint of course. He leaned in and captured Lan Zhan's lips in his and kissed him passionately, wrapping his arms around his waist as he did.

Lan Zhan pressed himself against Wei Wuxian and opened his mouth more. When he felt his tongue against his lips, he took it between his own and sucked. He nipped at Wei Wuxian’s upper lip and his hands slid up into his hair. His scent became heady with desire, betraying just how much he wanted the alpha in front of him.

Wei Wuxian loved that smell. He loved knowing that Lan Zhan desired him, wanted him, and he was eager to slip his tongue in his mouth and deepen the kiss.

Lan Zhan was content to be pliant for a little while. He followed Wei Wuxian’s lead and got lost in the sensations; it was like nothing else existed in the world except for them.

Eventually, he couldn’t help but address a thought that nagged at him. He whispered against Wei Wuxian’s lips, “Have you ever touched yourself and thought of me?”

Wei Wuxian licked his lips nervously. “Yeah. I’m only human… After that night at the inn. I kept thinking about you, especially at night. You were… _perfect._ It was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Last night was amazing too… What about you? Have you ever thought about me?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Every night,” he said, his voice no more than a breathy whisper. “Last night before I fell asleep I thought about you holding me down and growling at me, and fucking and soft-claiming me at the same time. Cumming in me, or on the outside like that first time.” He looked down and ran his finger over Wei Wuxian’s chest. “I thought about... you conjuring something to fuck me with, so you could watch.”

He looked back up at him through his lashes. “I think about you watching me a lot.”

Who knew that Lan Zhan had such a filthy mouth…! Wei Wuxian took a shaky inhale at his words, pupils dilating as he looked at him. “I can conjure something to fuck you with,” he said slowly. “If that’s what you want.”

Lan Zhan’s eyebrow raised a little. He looked down and back up again. “If you get me something pretty to wear while you do it,” he said. “If you can afford my tastes.”

"I'll buy you something," Wei Wuxian said with a slight smirk. It would give him a lot to think about. He would definitely find something pretty.

Lan Zhan hummed, satisfied. He hoped it would be something cute, but he wasn’t sure what sort of things Wei Wuxian could afford. The Jiang family was pretty rich...

“I told you what I thought about last night,” he said quietly. “I want to know what you thought about when you touched yourself. Take me through the process.”

"Well..." Wei Wuxian began, feeling his cheeks burn a little. "I was lying in bed and the first thing I thought about was how in that morning in the inn, you rubbed yourself up against me, so wet and soft... So I started touching myself, stroking my cock and thinking about how happy you looked when I came on your pussy. And Gods, that pussy... So hot and tight inside. You felt perfect around me, squeezing me just right. And you make the most delicious noises when you ride me. I came thinking of you like that. I thought about how... some day you might take my knot. I wanted to. I wanted to fill you as best I could. And I'm delighted that I did last night."

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but purr while he listened. He smiled and ran his hands along Wei Wuxian’s sides and around to his lower back. His voice was soft and rumbly when he said, “You can again.”

“You like it when I knot in you? You want me to fill you up with my cum?” Wei Wuxian teased, enjoying the way that Lan Zhan was touching him.

Lan Zhan let out a low hum and leaned forward to kiss along Wei Wuxian’s jaw and nibbled on his ear. “You’ll have to get me nice and relaxed first,” he whispered.

“Oh trust me, I will,” Wei Wuxian whispered back, rubbing his hands over the small of Lan Zhan’s back. “I’ll relax you. I’ll make sure you cum before I even try.”

A buzz of arousal went through Lan Zhan’s body and he stuck his tongue out and licked Wei Wuxian’s ear. “What are you waiting for?” he breathed.

Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms tighter around Lan Zhan and launched him into the air, picking him up and capturing his lips once he was there. He carried him over to the bed and dropped him on it before crawling on top of him, letting out a small growl as he remembered how he'd liked it earlier.

Lan Zhan’s eyes were wide and his breath came out shaky. The growl forced a shiver through him and he spread his legs. His scent was thick with arousal and desire and his heart pounded against his skin even as he took the orange slices out of his robe and set them on the bedside table.

Wei Wuxian looked down at him and licked his lips. He always wanted to taste him and now was a good a time as ever. So he pried Lan Zhan's legs apart and pushed his robe up. He planted kisses all along the inside of his thigh and glanced up at him as he reached closer and closer to his opening.

Lan Zhan blinked down at him in bewilderment. When he realized what Wei Wuxian was about to do his eyes widened again and he pushed himself up to his elbows to watch. Excitement burned in his stomach; what would it feel like?

That was enough permission. Wei Wuxian made a pleased hum and then stuck out his tongue to lick broadly over Lan Zhan’s pussy. The taste of his slick was surprisingly good and he wanted to continue. He grabbed hold of Lan Zhan’s hips so he could better bury himself between his legs, wriggling his tongue over the slit and dipping his tongue lightly inside.

Lan Zhan lay back down with a deep sigh and his hands snaked down to slide through Wei Wuxian’s hair and hold his head. It wasn’t as shocking of a feeling as he expected. It was actually kind of relaxing... he pulled his hands away to take the pillows and position them around him so he could rest his legs against them, then he grabbed Blue and hugged it. One hand returned to Wei Wuxian’s hair. A quiet purr made his breathing rough and he ignored it as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

Wei Wuxian liked the sound of that purring. He hummed and let the vibrations reverberate around his quivering hole. He kept lapping up each bit of slick and then pushed a finger inside him, curling it into his sweet spot.

Lan Zhan’s purr stopped. He inhaled deeply and squirmed, his hand tugging a little on his hair. It was a more intense feeling than before, but not too much. He made himself relax again, taking deep breaths.

Wei Wuxian manoevered his finger in and out lightly, then pushed in a second one to stretch him out. He was definitely becoming addicted to his sweet taste, pushing his tongue in as deep as he could alongside his fingers.

Lan Zhan’s breath shook a little. “Go slower,” he whispered, his hand tightening in Wei Wuxian’s hair.

To answer, Wei Wuxian let out another hum. He slowed down his pace and loved in a relaxed motion, slowly working his fingers and tongue in tandem.

“Mmm...” Lan Zhan relaxed, his fingers going limp and his legs falling open again. He must have tensed them up before. He squirmed around to get more comfortable and pulled a blanket to wrap the top half of his body in, that purr starting up again and making his chest vibrate. He hadn’t slept well the night before since Wei Wuxian had kept him up for a while, so he was still a little sleepy. He loved the slow, smooth movements of Wei Wuxian’s tongue and fingers. It was easy to get lost in the pleasant sensations and the lazy rhythm of it. After a moment he started to happily doze.

Wei Wuxian looked up at Lan Zhan after a moment and noticed him dozing. He smiled a little and pulled back from him.

Lan Zhan didn’t notice for a few seconds when the warmth between his legs was gone. He shifted and made a soft noise, then opened his eyes and looked down around Blue to see that stupid smile on Wei Wuxian’s face.

“Why did you stop?” he mumbled.

“Are you tired?” Wei Wuxian asked, that smile not dropping from his face as he spoke. “You were dozing off a little bit back there.”

Lan Zhan squirmed. “Feels nice,” he mumbled, rubbing his eye with one hand. “Relaxing. ‘M sleepy, but don’t stop.”

Wei Wuxian shook his head and climbed back up Lan Zhan's body. He brushed a lock of hair behind his ear and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "If you're tired you should get some rest. We can always do this another time."

Lan Zhan pouted up at him. “What if I want you to knot me before I sleep?” he complained. “You have to go to breakfast and classes. Don’t leave me unsatisfied.”

"I'll make you cum but I'm not going to fuck you if you're going to fall asleep. My knot will be a rude awakening," Wei Wuxian told him. He slid his hand back down through his slick and eased a finger back inside him.

Lan Zhan kept pouting, though he spread his legs again. He supposed Wei Wuxian was right; as much as he loved the sleepy sex he’d had the night before, that knot wouldn’t really let him stay so relaxed... at least at first. He closed his eyes again and said, “Use your mouth then.”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian said softly. He shuffled back down his body and buried his head between his legs again. It didn't take more than a minute to get back into the rhythm of things, licking broadly over his opening.

Lan Zhan hummed contentedly and put his hands back on Wei Wuxian’s head. He tried not to fall asleep this time, but it was difficult. It was just _so_ relaxing and he was so comfortable... he eventually pulled Wei Wuxian’s head a little further up and let his legs slide down a bit. Maybe if he sucked his cock instead he wouldn’t fall asleep.

Wei Wuxian took the hint. He licked his lips again and then ran his tongue along the length of Lan Zhan's cock. It wasn't as big as his, not even close, but it was a decent size. Even so, he found it relatively easy to close his lips around the head and sink it into his mouth, rubbing his tongue against that little sensitive spot under the head.

Lan Zhan shivered and gasped. This was the opposite of relaxing; he suddenly felt tense and his hands curled in Wei Wuxian’s hair. He had never felt something like that before — it was so _wet._ He pushed his hips up a little, wanting more of it.

At least Lan Zhan seemed to enjoy it. Wei Wuxian hummed and took in more of his cock, all he could fit in (which was most of it), and let his saliva pool on his tongue and dribble down Lan Zhan's cock.

Lan Zhan bit his lip and made a short sound before he pulled Wei Wuxian’s head up a little by his hair. He planted his feet on the bed and started undulating his hips, pushing up into Wei Wuxian’s mouth.

Wei Wuxian let him fuck his mouth as he pleased, content just to be a vessel for his orgasms right now. This way, he could catch his cum in his mouth and neither of them would have to clean up.

It wasn’t as fast as Lan Zhan was used to, but he thought he liked this better than using his hand. He pulled Wei Wuxian’s head down in little bounces at the same time as he jerked his hips up, going as fast as he could. He panted softly and occasionally looked down. Wei Wuxian looked good with a cock in his mouth...

Of course, Wei Wuxian looked up at Lan Zhan through lidded eyes as he did. He could tell by the expression on his face that he was enjoying the view and he intended to make the most of that, feeling a sense of pride trickle through him.

Lan Zhan kept his gaze as much as he could, even as the tension in his body rose. Eventually it was too distracting and he had to look away and press his head into the mattress. His movements became jerky as time went on and he tried in vain to keep from cumming too fast. It wasn’t easy to relax when he was moving this much. He glanced down at Wei Wuxian again and made a choked sound. His breath stuttered and he curled up with an undignified squeak just as the orgasm hit him. His hands tightened in Wei Wuxian’s hair and his feet came up to cross over his back, locking him in.

Wei Wuxian had been intending to swallow anyway but Lan Zhan didn't give him much of a choice regardless. It was salty and not as nice tasting as his slick, but he swallowed it and pulled away from his cock with a wet pop. He licked over the tip to catch any remains and then gently pried Lan Zhan's legs off him so he could sit on his haunches and wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.

Lan Zhan went limp as his heavy breaths slowly evened out, his chest heaving with it. He lazily opened his eyes to look at Wei Wuxian. “You should do that more often,” he breathed.

"You like me sucking your dick?" Wei Wuxian teased with a smirk. He crawled back up Lan Zhan's body to give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

Lan Zhan hummed and pushed his robe back over his body. “You look good with a cock in your mouth,” he whispered.

It felt weird to say. He had heard the phrase a million times, but it was always directed at him or other omegas and it was never meant in a nice way. It always made him bristle and feel almost triggered due to his past experiences. But saying it to an alpha felt _good,_ especially when it was the damn truth. There were no power dynamics going on there.

Wei Wuxian let out a small croon at that. He liked the praise from Lan Zhan, even if it was absolutely filthy.

Lan Zhan’s gaze traveled down to Wei Wuxian’s chest. His croons were admittedly calming. It made him feel kind of weird for some reason, and the more he thought about it the more uncomfortable he became with that weird feeling.

He realized that he didn’t want Wei Wuxian to leave, and that kind of freaked him out. It felt like a dependency. He didn’t want to be dependent on any alpha, not even in his family. It made him feel unsafe. Would he get more dependent as time went on?

“You should go to breakfast before you get in trouble,” he said.

"You're right," Wei Wuxian sighed. He leaned in to kiss him again and then leaned back to grab his shirt and jacket and slipped them on. He didn't want to leave Lan Zhan either but he knew he'd be back soon. "I'll get going. I'll see you again soon."

Lan Zhan hummed. He didn’t move except to take down the barrier on the window to let Wei Wuxian out, and waited until he had climbed out before he got up. He took another bath just to get the alpha scent off of him, then he crawled into his nest and fell asleep. He needed to keep Wei Wuxian out of the nest... at least so he could have one place that didn’t smell like him. One place where he could be independent.


	10. Lingerie

Wei Wuxian didn’t come back for a while. Lan Zhan didn’t know how to feel about that; he refused to let himself feel anything most of the time. Anytime he started missing him (missing his _body,_ he told himself) he buried himself in some sort of project. When it got to be too much, usually at night, he just fucked himself until he was too tired to miss him anymore.

It was made easier by his research. He had set out to discover exactly what kinds of things he was capable of with life magic. As far as he was aware there wasn’t a lot of literature on it other than what he already knew, so he was going into uncharted territory. He first figured out that he could intensify the pigment of flowers and fruits. It required a lot of magic and it usually depleted him for a while, but it was worth it. It seemed to be a slightly different technique, but it was hard to describe. He did his best to explain in his notes.

The next few weeks he spent trying to intensify the _taste_ of fruits and vegetables, and he wasn’t always sure if it was working. But eventually he was able to compare two different carrot plants, one he grew normally and one he used the new technique on, and he had Su Ming taste each without telling her what his expectations were. She had reacted noticeably to the intensified plant, so he considered it a success. He would need to do more experiments to be sure, though.

He was consumed in this new talent he was developing. He filled notebooks with experiments and possible hypotheses to test, possible explanations for what was happening. He planned on writing a book about this once he truly figured it out. It wasn’t anything life changing; being able to make a pink flower red or make an orange taste especially good wasn’t enough to sound the alarm.

He was still obsessed with it, though. If he could do these things, what else could he do? Could he make a pink flower blue? Could he make an orange taste like an apple? He eventually got Su Ming to lend her magic and help him do these experiments more often.

It didn’t go nearly as fast as it did when Wei Wuxian helped, and he suspected it was because of the nature of alpha magic, which was metaphorically condensed and material compared to the malleable and mist-like omega magic. Those were the only words Lan Zhan could think of to describe the difference. They were both made of energy, but the _kind_ of energy was different. It was why alphas usually stuck with offense or manipulation or conjuration — physical things — and omegas stuck with healing or more obscure things like life or atmospheric magic (and a lot of magic that is best with omegas is illegal, like illusion or dream magic).

It wasn’t a bar on people doing certain types of magic; honestly the social pressures was a lot of the reason why people chose what they did. Regardless, Lan Zhan was sure that Wei Wuxian’s help would benefit his research. He thought about asking his brother or uncle, but they were so busy with grading assignments and making class plans. He wasn’t about to go find Wei Wuxian, though. He just kept making notes and waited.

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian had gone for trip into the city. He had told Lan Zhan that he would be buying him something pretty to wear and he intended to make good on that request. Truthfully, he needed to be watching just how much he was spending these days, but Lan Zhan was worth it. He wanted nothing more than to buy him lots of pretty things.

He took his time mulling over the different choices and went to many different stores to browse their wares. The last thing he wanted was to keep turning up to Lan Zhan’s room empty-handed, expecting sex just because he wanted it. If he was going to win Lan Zhan’s heart (eventually), he wanted his intentions to be at least subtly clear.

Eventually, he picked out a sheer red robe, embroidered with lace at the hem and the ends of the sleeves. It was rather short, just barely long enough to cover Lan Zhan’s lower region. The red matched the colours he typically picked out for himself and while he knew it wasn’t Lan Zhan’s typical colour, he hoped he would like it. He paused once he folded the robe over his arm. Should he… buy him something to wear underneath as well? There was a selection of underwear towards the back of this particular store. Wei Wuxian couldn’t place why he felt so embarrassed looking at them when he already had the robe over his arm. Usually, he had no shame when it came to things like this. Even so, he quickly picked out a pair of matching red underwear with a little lace around the edges that would fit Lan Zhan and took them to the man at the counter who had been watching him with amusement.

“Got a lucky omega waiting for you, ey?” he said. Wei Wuxian laughed a little as he placed the money for the items on the counter.

“Something like that.” He tucked the items into his bag and then headed back to the campus. He’d gone in the early morning so it was still the afternoon when he got back, he’d had no classes today after all. Wei Wuxian decided that he needed to go right away, lest someone find out what he had stored in his bag. So, when he got back to campus, he climbed up to Lan Zhan’s window the same way he had left the last time, and then knocked on the barrier.

Lan Zhan was working on one of his experiments towards the other side of the large room. He barely heard the knock but he spotted movement in the corner of his eye. _Huh._ It had been a couple weeks since Wei Wuxian came by. It was curious that he finally did so in the middle of the day. Well, either way Lan Zhan was content to set aside his work for some good sex. He took down the barrier.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said in a sing-song voice. He popped in through the window and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder at what he was working on. “I never seem to catch you whenever you’re out of your room. What are you working on?”

Lan Zhan scowled and bristled. “Take your boots off,” he scolded. “Unless you want to clean this floor for me.” He turned back to his notebook and recorded where he was so he could pick back up later.

Wei Wuxian huffed. Lan Zhan was as cold as ever. He did as he was told though, pausing to lift each foot and yank off its boot. “There,” he said. “I’m not wearing them.”

Lan Zhan stayed bristled, but he didn’t scold him anymore. Cleaning the floor really was harder than cleaning a normal floor since it was made of different material, but it was also just one of those things that he was weird about. He went to great lengths to make sure his potted plants didn’t spill dirt on the mat.

He stood up and went to take Wei Wuxian’s boots from him. He took them all the way across the room to the door where he had a rack for his own boots and set them down. “Don’t do it again,” he said when he went back to straighten up the area where he had been working.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Wei Wuxian said with a little whine. He came back to crouch beside Lan Zhan. “Will you tell me what you’re doing now?”

Lan Zhan didn’t answer. Instead he went to the orange tree and picked one off, then peeled it and handed him a slice. He wanted to see if he would get a different reaction; Su Ming had said it was the best orange she had ever had, but she already knew about his projects by then.

Wei Wuxian met Lan Zhan’s eyes as he took the orange slice out of his hands with his teeth rather than his fingers. He chewed on it with a delighted hum, eyes bright. “Wow!” he said. “Did you grow this yourself? It tastes really good!”

Lan Zhan blinked. “We grew it,” he said. He had worked on it since then, but it was already grown thanks to Wei Wuxian. “Does it taste different?” he prodded.

“This is the same orange tree as before? It does taste a lot better! I mean, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever tasted, actually,” Wei Wuxian marvelled. “Like… its fruit tasted like oranges before but this is like _extra_ orange.”

Lan Zhan hummed and went back to his notebook so he could flip through and record what he’d said by the spot where he’d done his experiments on the orange tree. “I’m working on expanding my capabilities,” he said when he was done.

Wei Wuxian happily threw his arms around Lan Zhan and planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek. “You’re so talented! I can’t wait to see what else you can do. Also, always tell me if you want some of my extra magic, okay?”

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip. “I have some experiments I need to do,” he said. “Your magic seems to give different qualities to the result. I want to replicate some of these things using that. If you have time.”

“Of course. I always have time for you,” Wei Wuxian cooed with a grin. He nuzzled against his cheek affectionately. “Whenever you need me.”

Lan Zhan sighed. He didn’t like how his heart reacted to that. It made him feel weird. He pulled away and got another notebook so he could record the new results in it, then he took both notebooks over to a potted flower plant by the wall. It had little pink flowers on it, and the plant next to it was identical except the flowers were red. He wrote down the setup on one page and what he was expecting as a result, then he put his fingers on one of the flowers and looked at Wei Wuxian expectantly.

It reminded Wei Wuxian of the time that Lan Zhan had changed the colour of the flowers when he was drunk. He smiled and put his hand on Lan Zhan’s, letting his own magic flow through him to boost his own.

Lan Zhan focused hard and twisted his magic. It resisted, wanting to do what it had always done. After some effort, the color finally went from a soft pink to a deep, vibrant purple. Lan Zhan let go and gasped, his eyes wide.

“It worked,” he breathed. He scrambled to write down what had happened.

“Wow,” Wei Wuxian said. “I never even considered that you could do something like this with life magic. I feel so lucky to be able to see it.”

Lan Zhan continued for the rest of the flowers on the plant. He tried different things each time and carefully recorded what he expected and what happened. Once when he had kept going the flower turned entirely black. One thing he wasn’t able to figure out was how to _take away_ the color on a flower. He knew it was possible based on his readings since making life go backwards was considered a master level of life magic, but he would have to figure that out when he could.

After the flowers he moved onto the edible plants and worked on the taste. This wasn’t quite as successful. When he tried to change the taste it ended up tasting sweeter or sour and once more bitter, but he couldn’t get anything to taste like something completely different. Maybe it required a different technique.

He had filled half the notebook by the time he had done everything he could think of. He would need to go through all of the results and come up with a general conclusion and then ideas for further experiments. But for now he was more than satisfied. He was sure this had been done before in master life mages, wherever they were in the world (if they were out there), but they had yet to write about it and have their books featured in the library, so Lan Zhan considered himself to be a pioneer anyway.

“I’m going to make a loquat taste like an orange one day,” he told Wei Wuxian firmly, speaking it into existence.

Wei Wuxian had watched, enamoured, as Lan Zhan worked. It really was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Why didn’t Lan Zhan give himself more credit? This was incredible! Something for the history books.

“I really believe you can do anything with that magic,” he said. “Gods, you’re so talented, you know that?”

Lan Zhan met his gaze and then looked back down at his notebook again. He didn’t know how to respond to the compliment. He wanted to make a comment, but he wasn’t sure how to phrase it without sounding needy.

Eventually he went with, “I’m surprised you waited this long to see me again.”

“Hmm, I did miss you lots. But I didn’t want to just… show up with nothing,” Wei Wuxian said. He pulled his bag into his lap. “You remember the last time I was here? You told me that we could try out using my conjuration magic in the bedroom if I bought you something pretty to wear during.”

So Wei Wuxian was absent for weeks because he didn’t want to show up empty handed? Lan Zhan was going to point out how stupid that was but he was distracted by the bag. Something pretty...? He sat up a little straighter and set his pencil down.

“You got me something?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian noticed how Lan Zhan seemed to perk up at that. He smiled and nodded. He reached into the bag and as soon as he touched the soft material of the robes, he felt his cheeks burn red. He cleared his throat and pulled out the items he had bought for Lan Zhan earlier that day and handed them to him.

“Here,” he said. “I hope you like it.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes visibly widened when he saw the red lace. He had never worn red before... but he _loved_ lace. It was not a lot of fabric. How much of his skin would it even cover? He grabbed it and rushed over to his bath area so he could change into it.

He tossed his clothes over the top of the privacy screen and slipped on the underwear first. It was a pair of small red silk panties with lace lining the edges. It actually managed to fit him, surprisingly. Most underwear like this was meant for omega women and his dick always made it look weird but the front of these were big enough that it looked okay. He pulled the robe on and noted that it was extremely short. It didn’t even go completely over his ass.

He liked the sheer material, even though it and the lace was scratchy compared to his usual clothes. He would never wear this for very long, but he bet it looked good enough to deal with it for a while.

He got those black stockings and pulled those on and tied little bows above his knees before he came out and went to his mirror to check himself out. _Oh yes,_ it was nice. The sash around the waist showed off his figure perfectly.

He didn’t have the same curves as omega women did, but he did like the way his waist tightened before going back out a little to meet his hips. The robe was clearly meant for a woman with how the front lengthened a bit more because of his flat chest but he didn’t mind. He turned to the side and looked over his shoulder at his ass. It looked _so_ good he even smiled a little and his scent sweetened — the panties didn’t completely cover it and it felt weird but again, he was willing to sacrifice comfort if he could look like this. The robe’s short length revealed the bottom of his ass and the underwear made arches up to his hips to show the fleshy bits... it was perfect.


	11. Lingerie (pt 2)

Wei Wuxian’s jaw dropped the moment Lan Zhan stepped out from behind the privacy screen. His fingers fisted the material of his pants as he watched him admire himself in the mirror. It looked even better than he had imagined. The sheer red material left little to the imagination but it complimented his pale skin and hugged him in all the right places. He couldn’t be more relieved that it fit him right.

“Wow…” he breathed. Taking another shaky breath, he walked over to him and put his hands on his hips, feeling them over the material. He leaned down, meeting Lan Zhan’s eyes briefly through the mirror and then kissing under his jaw and down until he got a deep inhale of his scent. “You look… _amazing_ ,” he whispered. “Better than I ever imagined.”

Lan Zhan purred and tilted his head to the side, his scent going light and submissive. He balked at the idea of submitting to an alpha but honestly, Wei Wuxian had earned it this time. This outfit probably cost a pretty penny. He rested a hand on Wei Wuxian’s and the other traveled up his chest to find Wei Wuxian’s face so he could hold it. He watched him through the mirror with a little smile in his eyes but not on his lips, the purr still rumbling in his chest. He loved how he was looking at him.

Just when he thought things couldn’t get any better, Lan Zhan let out that wonderful purr, his scent intoxicating. Wei Wuxian answered with a croon and a nip to his neck. He wished he could claim him, even if it was just a light, soft-claim that would only last a couple days. It wasn’t worth it if it meant he would attract attention to Lan Zhan.

“I take it that you like it,” he mumbled against his skin.

“You did well,” Lan Zhan purred. He pulled Wei Wuxian’s hand under the robe and over his stomach and side. “You don’t have plans for the rest of the day?”

“None at all,” Wei Wuxian confirmed. He kissed his neck against and gently bit a soft part of his skin, not hard enough to leave a red mark, but enough to leave faint indents that Wei Wuxian could lave his tongue over after.

The bite ached a little. Lan Zhan hummed and raised his eyebrow. “Are you suggesting you want to claim me?” he asked quietly. The idea of it excited him, actually.

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched. He couldn’t lie and say he didn’t think about it. Ever since Lan Zhan had run his hand over his stomach, he couldn’t help but think about what a domestic life with Lan Zhan might be like. Claiming him, impregnating him with his child… What would he look like pregnant? Positively beautiful still, no doubt, and with a beautiful pregnant glow… But it was best not to get ahead of himself.

“Yes…” he mumbled. “Even if it was just a little one… But I didn’t think you’d want to have to explain that if anybody saw it.”

“No one would see,” Lan Zhan said. “I have a lot of hair and claims are on the back of the neck. And I always keep my scent hidden except when I’m in my room.” He pulled his hair around to one side and rubbed his fingers over the fleshy part where the scent came from. “You can do it while you’re fucking me if you want,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “Not too hard.”

“Not too hard… Only a little, soft claim. Something that’ll last a few days,” Wei Wuxian confirmed. He eagerly roamed his hands over all the soft skin under his robe and pressed himself against his back.

Lan Zhan’s eyes twinkled and he pulled away with a hum. “Didn’t you say you would use your magic and watch this time?” he asked. “You can’t have both.”

“Weren’t you the one who just confirmed with me that I don’t have anything else to do for the rest of the day?” Wei Wuxian replied teasingly.

Fair enough. Still, Lan Zhan said, “If you want to touch me you should earn it first.” He sauntered over to the bed and daintily sat down on it, holding himself up on one arm and his legs tucked to the side. He felt so pretty and powerful; it was nice to flaunt it like this. It wasn’t very like him normally, but he didn’t care. He beckoned Wei Wuxian over.

“Did you think about fucking me while you were gone?” he asked.

“Of course,” Wei Wuxian said as he approached Lan Zhan. “I thought about you every night. I thought about how good you were for me last time. Wet and open… I loved eating you out. I stroked my cock thinking about you.”

Lan Zhan put out the lights in the room. It wasn’t dark thanks to the sun coming through the windows, but it made the place feel more intimate. He drank in the words and let himself imagine it: Wei Wuxian lying in his bed with his hand in his pants, eyes squeezed shut.

“I thought about you too,” he murmured. The specific things he had thought about were quite interesting actually, but he didn’t want to bring them up just yet. Maybe in a little while after Wei Wuxian had fucked him.

He pat the bed, indicating for him to sit. “What did you imagine doing to me?” he asked.

“I thought about eating you out again, burying my head between your thighs and hearing you sigh and moan…” Wei Wuxian said as he sat down on the bed. He put a careful hand on Lan Zhan’s thigh. “I thought about fucking you, squeezed my hand around my cock in hopes it would emulate how it felt to be inside you, but it’s not the same, not even close. I want to knot you again… feel you squeeze me, fill you with my cum.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes took another mischievous glint as he pulled a blanket over to hide his lap. He wanted to tease a little and keep Wei Wuxian from watching. Just for a little bit. He reached under it and slid his hand under that lace underwear to toy with himself.

“I was mad that you didn’t come see me,” he said, his voice quiet as ever. “I thought, there’s some alphas that would kill to have me every day. I wanted to go in those dorms and ride you right there in your room. If my brother wasn’t on the fourth floor I might have considered it.”

“I would have gladly had you in my room had you been so bold,” Wei Wuxian said. He felt a trickle of pride crawl up his spine at the idea of it. There was no way that the other alphas wouldn’t know what was going on. Lan Zhan was _his._

“I had promised you something to wear and I held myself back until I could buy it for you. I knew it would be worth it to finally have you again and see you in that pretty little outfit.”

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip while he took his cock out of those panties. As well fitted as they were, they couldn’t hold him in when he was hard. He slowly stroked himself under the blanket. “I forgive you,” he said.

Wei Wuxian’s gaze shifted down to the movement under the blanket. Gods, was he touching himself? It was almost too much. “Thank you,” he said. “But if it bothers you that much, I’ll come by every day if you want.”

“I wouldn’t mind it,” Lan Zhan answered, his hand still moving in slow, teasing strokes. He was watching Wei Wuxian intensely, his eyes dark. He noticed every flick of his eyes and every movement of his lips. He had never felt this way with any other person; he usually preferred to be ignored, but now he _wanted_ Wei Wuxian to watch him. His attention was addicting... no, his _desire_ was addicting.

Wei Wuxian didn’t know what to do with himself while Lan Zhan was doing that. His words were drowning out as he was fixated on the movements of his hand under the blanket. He could only imagine what was going on under there. His own aroused scent started leaking through.

“Lan Zhan. I want to touch you…” he said. Then added a: “Please.”

Lan Zhan considered it. Wei Wuxian had been very good to him up to this point. But if he got any closer, he wouldn’t get the full thrill of being watched. He was having too much fun at the moment.

“Stay there until I cum,” he said, swirling his fingers over the head of his cock. “Then you can touch.”

A part of Wei Wuxian wanted to misbehave. He wanted to ignore what Lan Zhan had told him, growl and have his way with him. But for now, he would play the part of a good boy. His fingers curled into fists on his lap.

“Can I at least watch? I want to see what you’re doing,” he said. His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “I want to see you touch your cock…and your pretty little pussy.”

The way Wei Wuxian’s eyes intensified made Lan Zhan shiver. He supposed he could compromise. He moved to sit at the head of the bed and pulled some pillows to his side so he could rest his elbow on them. He folded one leg in and the other stood up bent, swaying back and forth a little. He watched Wei Wuxian closely as he pulled the blanket away to reveal himself. He took hold of his cock again and gave it a slow stroke.

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched at the sight. So beautiful… Wei Wuxian’s own cock twitched in his pants and he resisted the urge to rub his palm against it and ease some of the tension.

“Thank you… You’re so unbelievably beautiful, Lan Zhan,” he said softly. “Go a little faster for me, won’t you?”

Lan Zhan obeyed and moved his hand in steady strokes, occasionally stopping to tease the head a little. He had been very contained to this point, but now he couldn’t help it when his lips parted and he licked and bit the bottom one. He tilted his head back against the headboard, feeling the slick starting to come out. He would be able to smell it soon, he knew.

Eyes still locked on Wei Wuxian, he let go so he could walk his fingers down the red silk. He rolled them over his balls before sliding them further down. Immediately he could feel the slick soaking up the fabric. He parted his fingers a little and rubbed up and down slowly. Yeah, he could smell it now.

“Gods, look at you. I can practically taste your sweet slick from here,” Wei Wuxian continued to run his mouth as his gaze stayed firmly set on Lan Zhan, flickering from his fingers to his face and drinking in every sound he made. “I can’t wait to watch you cum.”

Wei Wuxian really knew how to rile him up, Lan Zhan thought. He took hold of his cock with his free hand and let the other one slip inside his underwear. He swirled his middle finger over the wetness before he pushed it deep inside. He repeatedly curled it in and played with the sweet spot. He was silent except for his breath, which stuttered and increased as he touched himself.

Then he said, “Keep talking.”

Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but look a little smug at the sound of Lan Zhan’s voice as he said that. “You like it when I say filthy things to you? You do, I can see you twitching. Is your pussy quivering listening to me talk? It aches for me, I bet. It remembers how good it felt when I was inside you, my knot filling you up.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes were locked on Wei Wuxian, studying each expression that crossed his face as he spoke. His presence ignited the fire inside Lan Zhan. He carefully inserted another finger.

“Tell me what you would do...” he said quietly, “if I visited you in your room one evening.”

“Well… My room is my domain and I’ll make the rules there. If you come to my room in the evening, you’re just asking for me to ravage you. I’ll pin you down on my bed with your hips in the air so I can get a good look at you, all wet for me, surrounded by my scent,” Wei Wuxian said. “I’d tease you with my fingers and then rub my cock up against you until you were dripping. Maybe, just maybe, if you behaved yourself, I’d let you sit on my cock, let you ride me to your hearts content and take my knot as deep as you could, so hot and tight around me that you’re having trouble not moaning my name for the whole dorm to hear. I don’t want them to hear, Lan Zhan. I want you all to myself, I want to be selfish.”

As he listened, Lan Zhan’s hands moved a little faster. He started rubbing that sweet spot with his fingers while his other hand squeezed and twisted here and there. His breath was picking up and he shifted his hips.

“I’m quiet,” he breathed. He wouldn’t want anyone to hear either, mostly out of courtesy. Except maybe those alphas that Wei Wuxian beat up earlier in the semester. The thought of it made him smile just a bit, his eyes twinkling. “I bet those guys you fought with would be mad,” he said. “Or they might try to listen.”

“They’d have another thing coming if they tried to intrude on us,” Wei Wuxian replied, shaking his head. He adjusted his pants briefly, trying to ease how his cock was straining against the material just watching Lan Zhan touch himself. “But at least they’d know who you belong to now.”

Lan Zhan breathed out heavily and sped his fingers up before slowing down again. His cock was leaking all over his hand. He eyed the bulge in Wei Wuxian’s pants and licked his lips, then met his eyes.

“Make me something I can fuck myself with,” he said.

Wei Wuxian was eager to obey that request. He licked his lips and nodded, briefly closing his eyes to summon his magical energy and formed a toy in his hand. It was an average length and rather thick, about the size of Wei Wuxian's cock but not quite as long.

"Do you want to use it or do you want me to control it? No touching involved," he said.

“I’ll use it at first,” Lan Zhan said. He leaned forward and snatched the toy and sat back. He turned it around in his hands and inspected it. It looked like a normal dick. Not a _real_ one, but that was fine. Lan Zhan slowly pulled off the lacy underwear and then tossed it in Wei Wuxian’s general direction before he went back to looking at the toy. It was pretty big... he spread his legs and rubbed his fingers over the puffy flesh before working two fingers in again. When he was confident that he could take it, he took his fingers out and placed the toy at the opening. He gave it a few quick presses and then pushed it in.

Wei Wuxian caught the underwear in his hand and idly rubbed the material between his finger and thumb as he looked at Lan Zhan. He watched the toy ease inside him and his breath hitched again. It sunk so easily inside. “You take it so well,” he said.

Lan Zhan watched Wei Wuxian closely. He was so focused, it made Lan Zhan preen. He moved the toy in and out slowly a few times and then started moving it a little faster. The angle wasn’t the most comfortable so he instead shuffled to sit on his knees and positioned the toy under him. “Keep it here,” he said.

“As you wish,” Wei Wuxian answered. He focused his magical energy once again and kept the toy firmly in place.

Lan Zhan propped himself up on one hand and moved his hips up and down a few times to figure out what position was the most comfortable. When he got it he took his cock in his hand again and stroked it in time with his movements.

The urge to touch himself while he watched Lan Zhan bounce on that toy was almost unbearable, but Wei Wuxian held himself back. It would be worth it if he waited, to finally feel Lan Zhan’s touch. “Wow…” he mumbled.

Lan Zhan licked his lips and lifted his head, but his eyes stayed on Wei Wuxian. He sat up tall and slowed down, just enjoying the feeling of being so full. “Stunned silent?” he asked.

“Can you blame me? You’re just so beautiful,” Wei Wuxian said. He buried his hands in his lap to disguise the small motions he made with his fingers, using his magic to push the toy deeper inside Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan noticed the change but he didn’t react to it. He kept going at his slow pace and teased the head of his cock. “Do you like me in red?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian nodded and then moved the toy with a little more force. “I do. I like you in red a lot. It’s my colour, you know? I like to see you in my colour.”

Lan Zhan gasped softly and leaned forward to hold himself up with his hand again. He knew he was fishing for compliments, but really he just wanted Wei Wuxian to talk more. “What if I said I like blue better?” he prodded, his eyes challenging.

“I think you’d look gorgeous in anything, being as pretty as you are,” Wei Wuxian was eager to feed him with the praise. He moved the toy quicker and deeper. “If it’s blue you want, blue I will buy.”

Lan Zhan whimpered quietly. He had been hoping for a different response, more dominant, something more like what Wei Wuxian had done in the inn. Something like, _you’ll take what I give you._ But maybe he just wasn’t pushing enough. He would have to figure out how to elicit that kind of behavior. For now though, it was getting hard to think. He fought to keep eye contact and not break from the intensity of the pleasure.

Wei Wuxian felt a smirk tug on his lips, a sense of smugness racing through him at the way Lan Zhan slowly begun to tumble under his movements. “I want to dress you up like a doll. I want more moments like these where I can watch you dressed up in pretty little things, spread out for me,” he said.

Lan Zhan’s thighs shook and his brow twitched. He could feel the blush go from his ears to his cheeks as he fought to keep himself under control. He knew he loved being talked about like that, like an object to be desired, but he couldn’t fully appreciate it with his mind scrambled. It was so intense... he stopped moving his hand over his cock and that seemed to make it even more intense somehow. All he could focus on was the toy inside him.

“I— hnnnk—“ Lan Zhan didn’t even know what he was trying to say but it wasn’t going to come out apparently.

“What’s the matter, Lan Zhan? Can’t talk? Is that fake cock in your pussy distracting you?” Wei Wuxian cooed, watching Lan Zhan with an increased intensity.

Lan Zhan panted hard and gave one last effort to hold on, letting go of his cock to grasp the blankets with both hands. But it was too much for him. He whimpered again as his arms buckled and he felt face first onto the bed. He melted into the bed even while his ass stayed in the air and his legs even spread a little more. Gods it was too much, he wasn’t even touching himself but he already felt the pressure building to almost unbearable levels — yet he didn’t want it to stop.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t hold back any longer and he rubbed his hand over his aching cock through his pants with a groan. He let the toy fuck in just a little harder, wondering if Lan Zhan might start drooling.

“Do you see how hard you’ve made me? Gods Lan Zhan,” he breathed. “And so perfect on your hands and knees like that, just begging to be bred.”

Lan Zhan buried his face behind his arms in a last ditch effort to keep his pride. It was hard to hold back the sounds bubbling up in his throat and he held his breath to keep them from coming out. He could hold on for longer, he wasn’t going to let himself cum untouched like this with his ass up and Wei Wuxian talking about breeding him, he could sit back up if he really focused...

“Are you going to cum for me, Lan Zhan? I can see you holding your moans in, it feels good, doesn’t it?” Wei Wuxian said. He palmed himself a little more roughly as he kept up the relentless pace of the toy. He leaned in to whisper in Lan Zhan’s ear. “Cum for Wei-gege.”

Lan Zhan gave up. He couldn’t handle it anymore. He let out a desperate moan through his bitten lip before he came with a squeak, his body shaking. He shivered and his legs spread even more apart while his hips lowered, unable to keep holding himself up like that. It was mind blowing, he felt like he’d just ascended for a few seconds. When it was over he sank completely to the bed with a low moan, feeling wiped out.

Wei Wuxian watched with intense eyes and licked his lips. Lan Zhan was so beautiful in the throes of passion… he couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He pulled his cock out of his pants and gave it a few strokes. Then, he grabbed Lan Zhan by the ankle to flip him over onto his back and spread his legs wide. He settled between them and eased the toy out of him, letting it dissipate a moment later. To fill the space, he lined up his cock and started easing it inside his sensitive heat.

“Sorry, I can’t wait any longer,” he growled.

Lan Zhan was too exhausted to put on a bratty show. He watched Wei Wuxian through lidded eyes and let him do as he pleased. He had plans but they could wait. They had plenty of time.

Wei Wuxian leaned down to kiss him as he sunk all the way inside him. So hot and wet... It was just as good as he remembered.

Lan Zhan grunted softly into the kiss and nipped hard and tugged at Wei Wuxian’s bottom lip. His pussy kind of ached after that beating it had just gotten, so he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his reactions inside this time. He didn’t mind the pain. Not that kind of pain, anyway.

Wei Wuxian was easy on him though, at least at first. He thrust slowly in and out as he drank in the taste of Lan Zhan’s lips. As his pace finally started to increase, he broke the kiss and buried his face into the crook of his neck.

Lan Zhan quietly whimpered and curled his fingers in the fabric over Wei Wuxian’s chest. His breath picked up again as the rhythm sped up and he rested his feet on Wei Wuxian’s lower back. It was overwhelming, the pressure ramping up in his body.

“You really are the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Wei Wuxian mumbled against his skin. He kept up the pace as his hands roamed over every inch of skin he could reach, fingers sliding under the sheer robe to rub and pinch his nipples. “You’ve just cum and look how well you’re taking me still.”

Lan Zhan jumped from the pinch. “I don’t have to wait like you do,” he breathed. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, just enjoying it. It felt so nice to be trapped under Wei Wuxian like this. He could do this all day if his body didn’t complain too much.

Wei Wuxian chuckled a little and then kissed his neck. He kissed up and down it, his hands still wandering. Then, he took a shaky breath and glanced up at Lan Zhan. “When do you want me to claim you? Now…? Or when I cum?”

_Oh..._ Lan Zhan had forgotten about that while he was having his mind fucked out. He reached back and pulled his hair to the side. “When you cum,” he said, then he started squirming and said, “Pull out for a second.”

Of course, Wei Wuxian let out a long whine before he slowly did so. He had been quite enjoying himself so he was reluctant to pull out. Once he was all the way out, he gave Lan Zhan a pensive look.

Lan Zhan met his eyes with an intense look before he twisted around to lay on his stomach. He brushed his fingers through his hair and made sure it was out of the way, then he went ahead and pulled off his forehead ribbon and reached over to set it on the bedside table. “Okay,” he said when he settled down and spread his legs again, lifting his hips up a bit.

“ _Oh,_ ” Wei Wuxian breathed. He grabbed a handful of Lan Zhan’s ass and spread him slightly further just so he could get a better look at his _everything._ Now, this was a sight he would never forget. He was eager to grab his cock and push himself back inside him.

Lan Zhan took a deep breath. It was different than what he was used to. He reached for a pillow and slid it under him longwise to support his body. He crossed his arms in front of him and rested his cheek on them.

“Do you like this?” he asked, referring to the little moan Wei Wuxian had given.

“I’m enjoying the view,” Wei Wuxian remarked. He squeezed his ass again and then ran a hand up the small of Lan Zhan’s back, pushing the robe up with it. It didn’t take him long to resume the pace from earlier.

Lan Zhan moaned into his arms and let his eyes slide closed. His legs spread more and he let himself go limp, held up just by the thick pillow under him. He squeezed a little around Wei Wuxian’s cock, grunting as it intensified a little too much when he did.

Wei Wuxian loved the sound of those unrestrained moans. He made a note to tire him out a little before sex more often if he was going to be as pliant as this. Idly, his hand came back down to his ass. He rubbed one of the cheeks before hesitantly dipping between them to lightly graze his finger over his asshole. “Would you ever let me fuck you here?” he mumbled.

That made Lan Zhan’s eyes pop back open and he jumped a little.

 _”What?”_ he asked in disbelief. The idea was... he had never even _thought_ about that. Up the _ass?_ That would probably hurt like hell. Why would Wei Wuxian even...? He relaxed once the alarm passed, unable to keep tensing up like that. He was still confused, though. “Why would you want that?” he asked.

“I suppose I like the idea of staking my claim on every part of you,” Wei Wuxian said. He leaned over him, one hand on his hip and the other resting to the side of his head, and he leaned in to mumble in Lan Zhan’s ear. “I’d really like it if you’d suck me off at some point too.”

Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose and squirmed under him. “Is my pussy not enough?” he snapped, though his tone was more exasperated than upset. If Wei Wuxian could only go once per round, what was the point of wasting it in his mouth when he had a perfectly good spot for it to go? _Up the ass, in the mouth, he’s getting too confident,_ he thought.

Wei Wuxian attempted to still his squirming with his hand. “There isn’t anything wrong. In fact, I love your pussy. Didn’t I prove to you I want to worship your sweet pussy? But there’s nothing wrong with changing things up a little.”

Lan Zhan grumbled. He supposed Wei Wuxian had the tools to fuck him with even if he couldn't get it up again fast enough. Still, it seemed so... unsavory. He might be willing to try it, but he didn't want to admit that. It felt like a loss. He tried to make a thoughtful hum but with Wei Wuxian still fucking him it sounded more like a moan.

"Maybe sometime... if you could make me do it."

“Oh? You want me to make you? You want me to take whatever I want?” Wei Wuxian coaxed, fucking in a little harder now.

That forced another moan from Lan Zhan’s throat. He reached out to grab Blue and dragged it over to tuck it under his chest next to the pillow under his body and bury his face in it. He reached down between his legs and wrapped his hand around his cock, stroking up and down its length.

He knew it was contradictory. He liked the idea of Wei Wuxian taking what he wanted, but only the things that Lan Zhan was (secretly) willing to give him. He wanted to be able to pretend to fight against it and talk back to him, but he didn’t want that to be taken as an actual rejection. He wasn’t sure how to explain that — he didn’t think he was capable of explaining that without losing face. Maybe he could just wing it... if his scent wasn’t distressed, would that be enough?

Wei Wuxian let out a quiet hum and then buried his face against Lan Zhan’s neck completely as he kept thrusting in. He kissed his neck and down to where he was going to claim him, paying a lot of attention to that spot.

“Are you going to cum again? I see you touching your little cock down there,” he muttered.

Lan Zhan grunted and squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn’t going to cum until Wei Wuxian did; or he would try not to, anyway. It didn’t seem like the alpha would be lasting that much longer anyway with how fast he was going. He ignored the size comment.

There was no holding in the little chuckle when Wei Wuxian heard Lan Zhan grunt. He could feel his cock pulsing inside that wet heat, his stomach turning with his impending orgasm. “I’m close too,” he whispered. “You ready for me to knot you?”

“Bite me,” Lan Zhan rasped, squeezing Blue in his arm. This was going to hurt, he knew, but the idea excited him. He might change his mind when it happened but for now he was willing to explore this kind of pain.

Wei Wuxian gave a quick nod. He thrust in a few more times before he came with a moan. As soon as it left his mouth, he latched his teeth onto that sensitive spot at the base of Lan Zhan’s neck. He bit hard, but not hard enough for it to bleed, and only for a few seconds so that the bite would only last a few days. He nuzzled against him as his knot expanded inside him, pushing against all of his walls.

It was the most exhilarating thing Lan Zhan had experienced. He found out pretty quickly that he liked pain during sex. His eyes went wide and he tensed up with a broken cry. His hand sped up over his cock but he didn’t really need it with that knot suddenly squeezing against his sweet spot. The pain made the orgasm more intense and his whole body shook with the combined sensations. The knot was a sharp pain — though not as bad as it had been last time — and the bite was intense but dull. He _loved_ that.

He moaned until the knot was full and his orgasm had finished. The sharp pain faded pretty quickly this time, his muscles relaxing after a few seconds. The orgasm had helped, he thought. He liked the aftermath of it, the way his body buzzed from it. His neck burned where he had been claimed.

“Gods, Lan Zhan, I don’t know why I waited so long. I’m a fool,” Wei Wuxian said with a deep breath, calming down from his orgasm. He wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist and slowly turned them onto their sides and into a more comfortable position.

Lan Zhan whimpered openly, his breath still shallow. He wrapped his arms around Blue and put one leg forward over the pillow he had been lying on to keep his legs spread a little. Now that he was somewhat more in his mind, he noticed the claimed scent change. It was subtle because it had only been done to one side and it wasn’t a hard claim, but it was still noticeable. It was kind of tangy; not _sour_ by any means, but sort of like how oranges had a more intense flavor than apples. He mourned the fact that he had to hide it. He wanted all of the students to know that Wei Wuxian was his. He wanted to claim him too.

“If you want me to keep claiming you like this, you’ll have to tell your family eventually,” Wei Wuxian said as he squeezed Lan Zhan’s waist with his arms.

“No,” Lan Zhan said. He didn’t have to tell them... he hid his scent anyway. It would just take some extra caution. He didn’t want his family to be involved in his business; the idea was kind of humiliating.

Lan Zhan had said that so quickly. A question burned in the back of Wei Wuxian’s mind. He supposed that if there was any time to ask, it was when Lan Zhan couldn’t squirm away from him.

“Are you…ashamed of me?” he asked.

Lan Zhan seriously considered that. Was he ashamed? On the outside, no. He wanted everyone to know... except his family. People who _knew_ him. What did that mean? He was quiet for a little while.

When he spoke it was soft. “There is a lot of pressure on me from my family. Gege doesn’t have to deal with it because he’s an alpha. They treat me like a woman because I’m an omega. I’m not allowed to... do this.”

“It’s your body, you can do whatever the hell you want with it. If they don’t like that, that’s their own problem. Also, they can confront me if they want,” Wei Wuxian replied.

“No,” Lan Zhan said firmly. His heart raced when he heard those words. “I can’t—“ He _could_ do that, but it would raise hell. It wasn’t worth the tension in his family. He had good relationships with everyone at the moment. “I can’t.”

“Well… I can’t keep hiding us forever, you know. Eventually, if you won’t tell them, I will,” Wei Wuxian said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to do it randomly out of the blue or anything but… I don’t want to keep hiding for the rest of my life.”

Lan Zhan bristled and his scent soured. “You wouldn’t _dare!”_ he snapped. “Not everyone can mess up their relationship with their family and get by with it. You would do just fine on your own. Could you see me fending for myself in the world?”

Wei Wuxian grimaced at the souring of his scent. “Lan Zhan, I would never put you in unnecessary danger. Even if things were to come to that, which they won’t, you won’t ever have to fend for yourself. You can hurl as much abuse at me as you want, I will do my best to keep you safe,” he said, turning his head from him slightly to hide the hurt in his expression.

“Of course you would,” Lan Zhan muttered. “Have you considered that I don’t want to be reliant on an alpha to take care of me?“

"I'm sorry that you don't have a choice. If you're not reliant on your family, you're reliant on me. I wish things didn't have to be this way for you, I wish that you could live an honest life as _yourself_ ," Wei Wuxian replied, shaking his head.

Lan Zhan huffed. “I would have left this place years ago if I was an alpha,” he said. “I’d come back only for my mother. Maybe Gege too.”

“I’m… also sorry for even implying you should take yourself away from your family. It’s hard, not having a family. I wouldn’t wish it on you,” Wei Wuxian said quietly.

Lan Zhan relaxed a little. He loved his family. They loved him too and their strictness had nothing to do with that. But it was suffocating sometimes. “It’s okay. I’m going to earn my own money someday,” he said quietly. “Maybe even soon. Once my magic gets better.”

“It’s good to have your independence,” Wei Wuxian said. He let out a small sigh and buried his face against Lan Zhan’s neck. He closed his eyes and let his shoulders settle.

The conversation had left him feeling strangely hollow. It had been a long time since he’d even thought about his birth parents. Those painful memories were best left tucked far away. Hearing Lan Zhan talk about his mother made him think about his own. There were only fragments of her memory left, just the way she smiled and the faint scent of honey. He missed her a lot. His father too, of course, but he was a more subtle presence, not as strong in scent or boisterous as his mother was. Would things have been different had they still been alive?

Lan Zhan dozed for a few minutes. His neck still hurt from the bite but he liked the ache. He couldn’t wait to see it in the mirror. He could probably heal it himself if he needed to get rid of it, but he was fine with it for now. He wondered if Wei Wuxian would let him claim him if he could heal it before he left...

Speaking of which... “I told you some of the things I thought about you while you were gone,” he mumbled, “but not all of them...”

“Are you going to make me horny again? Because I really do need a break,” Wei Wuxian said with a small whine. His mood had been dampened by his thoughts.

A break? Lan Zhan heaved a sigh. They hadn’t been going for that long... Oh well. He needed to go back to his research anyway. The faster he came up with and conducted new experiments the more he’d be able to do with his magic. He was already thinking of ways he could make money on it.

“Please tell me though. That wasn’t an excuse to go silent on me! You started talking, now you have to finish,” Wei Wuxian whined even louder.

“You said you need a break,” Lan Zhan argued. The point of telling him his thoughts was to get a reaction out of him.

Wei Wuxian let out an indignant huff. “When has whatever I felt stopped you? Besides! I’m going to die if you don’t tell me what you were going to say. The anticipation is too much.”

Lan Zhan twisted his upper body so he could face the ceiling, then pointedly looked at Wei Wuxian. He was quiet for a little while, just staring, then he said, “I thought about you being an omega so I could fuck you.”

That made Wei Wuxian’s breath hitch. What would he even be like as an omega? Smaller, for sure, in all areas of his body. He’d be cute, probably look a lot more like his mother… Oh Gods, there he went again. Thinking about his mother. He shook the thought from his head.

“I don’t need to be an omega for you to fuck me,” he said flatly. “If that’s what you want.”

Lan Zhan blinked a few times. He had expected a bad reaction honestly, since omegas having sex with other omegas was considered gross by other people.

“What?” he asked. Wait, was he talking about...? His eyes widened. “You... _there?”_

“Well, it’s only right that if I’m going to ask to fuck you there, that I let you do the same. If you want. I know there’s a bit of a stigma about it but when have I ever cared about that stuff?” Wei Wuxian said with a shrug.

Lan Zhan was quiet for a moment. He had forgotten about the fact that the rare alpha that fucked other alphas existed. Where else would they put it in that case? He had never really given it much thought. He guessed he had always just... thought it was a metaphor or something. A way to insult someone. He didn't think it was _real._

"Wouldn't it hurt?" he asked. "It seems very unpleasant.”

“I don’t know. People do it so it must be… pleasurable in some way?” Wei Wuxian replied. “But we’d need… um… some kind of oil or something. Neither you nor I lubricate there! So…”

Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose. "I don't want oil in my ass," he said. "Is that what... is that what alphas use?"

Wei Wuxian let out another huff. He let go of Lan Zhan and slowly pulled away from him so he could sit up on the bed. “I don’t know! Maybe!”

Lan Zhan made a noise when Wei Wuxian's length slid out of him. Wei Wuxian didn't seem to be in a good mood; he knew he should have waited to talk about this. He stretched and stood up from the bed, then went over to his bath area to get a soft silk robe to replace the red one with.

Wei Wuxian grumbled to himself as Lan Zhan got up and walked over to the bath. He tucked himself back in his pants and took a deep breath.

Lan Zhan hung up the red robe underneath one of his longer ones and went to his desk and sat down. He didn’t know what Wei Wuxian’s problem was, but he didn’t care. (He _wasn’t going to_ care, he told himself. He _wasn’t_.) He had things he could do.

“Do you want me to leave?” Wei Wuxian asked softly, glancing over at where Lan Zhan sat. He seemed to be paying no mind to him.

Lan Zhan hesitated, but eventually he nodded. He convinced himself that he didn’t want Wei Wuxian moping around, or distracting him if it wasn’t going to be worth his while.

“Don’t wait so long next time,” he said.

Wei Wuxian said a simple: “Okay.” Then, he got up from the bed and dusted himself off. He glanced at Lan Zhan again and grabbed his boots, slipping them on before he headed to the window that he came in from and left the same way.

When he was out, he headed back to the alpha dorms and into his room. He flopped onto his bed and sighed, then rolled onto his stomach so he could rest his cheek on the pillow. How had he gotten himself into this situation? He thought that he’d be happy being intimate with Lan Zhan – the sex was still good, of course – but it lacked something.

Could he really continue this relationship if Lan Zhan didn’t seem to _care_ about him? Who did? Jiang Wanyin? Wei Wuxian laughed to himself against the pillow. Jiang Wanyin would be dead before admitting that he felt anything other than animosity towards him.

He wouldn’t blame him. He figured he would probably feel angry towards an adopted sibling if his father seemed to care more about them than him. So, what? Jiang Fengmian was what he had? Well, _lucky him._ It was no secret that Jiang Fengmian favoured him simply because of his attraction to his mother.

And there he went again. Wei Wuxian wished that in times like these, he could turn to his mother. His birth mother. She would smile at him, wrap him up in her arms like he was no bigger than the little boy she had cuddled and cooed at. Her advice probably wouldn’t have been much help, but at least he would’ve felt better. He grumbled again before deciding to take a nap, hoping that he would feel better when he woke up.


	12. Desire to Trust

Lan Zhan hadn't been hanging around as much lately, so Lan Xia was a little busier than normal. He wasn't her assistant and she never asked him to help out, he had always done it out of consideration, but admittedly she had grown to rely on her younger son to make the busywork go by faster.

She sighed and picked up the crates of empty vials from the kitchens to take back to the healing room. They weren't heavy, just kind of big for her little body. She couldn't see where she was going except for where her feet were stepping, so she cheerily called out to the students around her in the hallway, "Watch out everyone, little professor coming through!"

Wei Wuxian had woken up from his nap not too long ago and was wandering around campus in hopes of clearing his head. He heard Lan Xia’s call from afar and when he turned, he could only see a tower of crates and a pair of little legs. Shaking his head with a smile, he walked over and carefully took the top crates from her so she could see him. “Need a hand, laoshi?” he asked.

Lan Xia blinked owlishly. "Oh! Wei Wuxian, hello! To the rescue again?" She laughed and continued down the hallway, feeling much better now that she could see. "I really should get an assistant to help me with these kinds of things."

“I’m always available on days when I’m not in class,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum, easily carrying the crates. “I’d be happy to help.”

"You're such a sweetheart," Lan Xia said. "You're not a healer, but I'd be happy to pay you to do some of the busywork that doesn't need healing magic. I could use the extra time. Are you busy right now? I could use some help filling these vials."

Wei Wuxian shook his head. He had freed up his day for Lan Zhan but he couldn’t be around him right now. “I’m free all day, laoshi. Consider me recruited.”

That was relieving. "Wonderful," Lan Xia said. She led the way into the healing room and set the crate down on the floor next to a table in the corner. She quickly gathered the papers that were on it and set them aside, then brought over a pot of magic potion. "I just have to fill up these vials with this stuff. They don't have to be completely full, just a spoonful in each will do." She set a spoon down in front of Wei Wuxian and gave him a small funnel as well.

“Got it,” Wei Wuxian replied. He picked up the spoon and started doing as Lan Xia had suggested. For once, he was completely quiet, just focusing on the work at hand and clearing his mind of all other thoughts.

Lan Xia didn't take too long to fill the silence. "Lan Zhan usually helps me with these," she said as she worked, "but he's so busy working on his new projects. I heard about you helping out in the greenhouse! It's been nice to have fruits so early in the year."

“Yeah. It’s just a magic transference spell, giving a boost and all that. All the special stuff is all him,” Wei Wuxian said with a hint of fondness.

Lan Xia beamed. "It's amazing what such a simple spell can do," she said. "I'm so glad Lan Zhan is finally making more friends. What about you? You seem like a charismatic boy, have you made a lot of friends yet? I know it's still early in the semester."

“Ah, not many close ones really. I mean, I talk to people no problem. I have friends in my classes,” Wei Wuxian said with a small laugh. He kept his eyes down on his work. “I’m sociable but not everybody’s first choice of friend.”

Lan Xia's smile softened to something more sympathetic. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "I'm sort of the same way, especially when I was a student here. It's a strange feeling, to have many surface friends but no one to really have meaningful conversations with. It must be extra hard as a first-year too, leaving your family behind. Do you miss them?"

Wei Wuxian felt his shoulders go rigid. She had sunk her teeth right in to that sensitive spot in his heart right now. He shook his head. “No. I was adopted by the Jiang family and I think if anything, Madam Yu is happy that I’m gone,” he said. He laughed again, albeit more nervously. “It’s fine. I like it here. I never really felt like I fit in back there, this is better.”

Frowning, Lan Xia set down the vial she had just filled and looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry for assuming," she said. "I should know better, seeing as I came here in similar circumstances. You're such a sweet boy, you don't deserve to go through that."

That made Wei Wuxian feel strangely emotional. When was the last time someone had felt _sorry_ for him? He had to take a breather before he could fill the next vial. “It’s okay,” he said. “It is what it is.”

Lan Xia sighed. "It's _not_ okay," she said. "But listen to me, you don't have to go back there when you're done with school. I know there's pressure to give back what your caregivers did for you, but you deserve people in your life who love you and care about you. You're a kind, intelligent and handsome young man. The whole world is in your hands."

Wei Wuxian’s fingers were trembling by this point. He had to put down what he was holding and reach up to rub at his eyes. “I know,” he said between light, shaky laughs. “I’ll figure something out. It’s always what I’ve done best or… something.”

Maybe it was because of how similar their situations were, but Lan Xia felt somewhat maternal towards Wei Wuxian at that moment. "You're going to have a wonderful life, I can sense it." She held out her hands. "Would you like a hug?"

“Well, I’m not going to leave you hanging like that,” Wei Wuxian teased. He stepped over to Lan Xia and returned the hug, burying his face against the side of her head. She was so small… but she was surprisingly pleasant to hug.

Lan Xia rubbed his back. "You'll do just fine," she cooed. "I know it sucks right now, but just hang in there. And if you ever just need a hug, you can come and find me."

Wei Wuxian nodded and sniffled. He couldn’t seem to hold himself back anymore and he cried silently against her, his shoulders shaking. Truly, he couldn’t remember the last time that he had been held like this.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

That was the scene that Lan Zhan found when he passed by the healing room. He had been going to see if his mother needed any help, but apparently Wei Wuxian had beat him to it.

The sight of him crying and being hugged hit Lan Zhan like a sack of rocks. He quickly stepped back and turned around, and took a deep, slow breath to calm himself. He couldn’t even ask himself what Wei Wuxian could possibly be crying about, not with the tidal wave of emotions threatening to drown him. The frightening thing was that he didn’t know _what_ emotions those were. It could be jealousy, but his mother had helped plenty of students through moments of crisis. There was no reason to be jealous of Wei Wuxian for getting his mother’s attention.

_(Maybe he wanted to be the one that Wei Wuxian cried on.)_

Lan Zhan shook his head and started walking away. What kind of bullshit thought was _that?_ That wasn’t even close to the truth; Lan Zhan wouldn’t know what to do if Wei Wuxian cried in front of him. How does someone even respond to that?

No, he supposed it was only natural to be alarmed when suddenly finding the guy you had sex with earlier crying in your mother’s arms. It was a strange combination. Whatever he was feeling about it, it didn’t matter.

Wei Wuxian slowly pulled back from Lan Xia’s arms and rubbed his face of the remaining tears with another sniffle. “Sorry for being such a mess. I didn’t expect to uh… get all emotional like that. Gods, how embarrassing…” he said. He dusted himself off and glanced towards the door. “Who was that just now? Was that Lan Zhan?”

Lan Xia followed his glance. "I didn't see anyone," she said, "but it might have been him. Don't worry, he's not the kind of person to tell people you were crying. A lot of students struggle, it's a difficult time. It's good to cry it out, people don't know just how healing it can be."

“My mother would have probably said the same thing… I was a bit of a crybaby as a kid but she’d never scold me for it. I know… a lot of alpha kids aren’t so lucky. There’s a stigma about it,” Wei Wuxian said. He shuffled back over to the vials so he could keep working. “But it does mean a lot, thank you.”

Lan Xia smiled gently and joined him at the table to continue filling the vials. "It sounds like your mother was a smart woman," she said.

She hoped Lan Zhan hadn't needed anything if he did rush by. He would probably come back later if he had.

“She was,” Wei Wuxian reaffirmed.

He continued to help Lan Xia fill the vials until they were all done. He put his hands on his hips and smiled at his handiwork. Then, he looked over at her. “Is there anything else you need?” he asked.

Lan Xia smiled. "Not at the moment," she said. "Thank you so much for your help. Come back on Friday and I'll have some work for you to do then. And take care of yourself, okay?"

“I was happy to help and… thank you as well. For all that embarrassing stuff haha,” Wei Wuxian said. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and the walked over to the door to leave. “See you on Friday!” He gave her a little wave before he walked out the door.

Lan Xia waved back. It always felt nice when she could help students when they had trouble adjusting. It was one of her favorite parts of teaching. She just hoped Wei Wuxian took her words seriously. He really did seem like a good kid.

The conversation with Lan Xia had given him a lot to think about. Wei Wuxian knew that he was going to find himself going back to her again and again. She provided a comfort he didn’t know he needed until now. He headed back to the dorms after collecting something to eat and settled down for the night. That night, he fell asleep surprisingly at peace.

Lan Zhan put what he had seen in the back of his mind. He didn’t know what was wrong and he didn’t think that he wanted to find out. It wasn’t his business, anyway. He busied himself with his research for the next few days and tried not to care about Wei Wuxian not coming back. He had told him not to wait so long this time.

Was he bored with him? That bothered Lan Zhan. It nagged at him, as did the fact that he really did need Wei Wuxian’s attention. Why should it matter if Wei Wuxian tired of him? Still, he couldn’t help himself a few days later when his brother was sent on a short overnight trip. It was a perfect opportunity… and they had talked about it before. It didn’t look _desperate._

He took his bookbag and packed it with what he would need, since the buildings would all lock at curfew. He didn’t want to scale any walls, though he would probably have to at least go down the ladder from Wei Wuxian’s room first thing in the morning. He didn’t know where Wei Wuxian’s room was in relation to the main building, but it was unlikely that anyone would see him that early anyway. And even if he just waltzed down the stairs in the morning, no one would say anything. If they did, nobody important would believe it. His brother might… but he would _hope_ that Lan Xichen would also keep his mouth shut. He knew how their uncle was…

It was about an hour before curfew when he went to the alpha dorms. The guy that opened the door for him when he knocked seemed alarmed, but he just greeted him nervously. Lan Zhan wasn’t worried about being harassed this time; it was well enough into the semester that the fear of his uncle’s punishment should be whipped into the first-years. He might get _comments,_ but nothing as bad as what happened last time.

And sure enough, he heard a whistle when he got to the third floor. It was a quiet whistle though, not meant to call him out but just… probably impress their peers. He looked over and saw the group of alphas -- coincidentally, it was the same ones that got their asses handed to them at the beginning of the semester.

He knew nothing was going to happen, even if he got some rude comments. There were other alphas in the room too, and all of them knew the consequences if they _did_ anything. He was safe. He walked over to them.

“Well, hello there,” Huang Yang, the main offender from the previous incident regarded Lan Zhan with an up and down look. “Something we can do for a pretty little thing like you?”

“Maybe he’s finally changed his tune. Must be lonely up in those dorms all by yourself. Man’s got needs,” one of the other alphas said.

Huang Yang snorted with laughter. “Is that so? Come to spread your legs for us darling?”

“Not quite,” Lan Zhan said. He felt a bout of anxiety that made him hyperaware of his body. He wasn’t wearing the cape that hid his form this time. It wasn’t bad, he told himself. It felt kind of powerful. _You can’t do anything to me, no matter how pretty I look._

“Would you point me to Wei Wuxian’s room?” he asked.

“Wei Wuxian?” Huang Yang asked with a cock of his eyebrow. He and the alphas around them shared a glance and a grumble. “Hm. What do I get for telling you? A kiss?” The alphas around him laughed.

Lan Zhan lifted his chin a little and tilted his head as if he were trying to remember something. “What’s your name again?” he asked, his tone as monotonous as ever. “Huang...Yang? Was it you Uncle mentioned last week? The one that couldn’t finish his detention properly because his arms weren’t strong enough and he fell on his head? He said that if the student transgressed too much further he would take out the discipline whip.”

This was the most he had spoken at once in a long time, but the rush he got from it was worth it. The discipline whip was saved for serious offenders, usually those that assault someone or try to steal something valuable. The lashes it left had to heal on their own; no magic could help it. He didn’t really hear his uncle say he’d use the whip, but Lan Zhan was sure he could influence him if he had to.

He narrowed his eyes and put his hand under his chin thoughtfully. “It would be a shame if Uncle learned that said student made such lewd comments to his dear omega nephew earlier this semester.”

Huang Yang’s face flushed with embarrassment and there was an awkward grumbling amongst the rest of the alphas. They shifted around on their feet and looked at anything, _anyone_ other than Lan Zhan. Even so, Huang Yang scowled. “And I suppose your Uncle would also like to know that you’re sneaking around to see Wei Wuxian in the alpha dorms this late at night?”

Lan Zhan’s expression changed minutely, his brows twitching in a ‘you got me there’ motion. “I’m sure he would be thrilled,” he said. “Perhaps we can come to an agreement so as to keep him unaware.”

That seemed to rouse the attention of the rest of the alphas, peering over to look at Lan Zhan now. They laid in wait. “Oh? And what are you offering me, darling?” Huang Yang asked.

Lan Zhan hadn’t really planned for any sort of negotiation. He was nervous with all of them watching him, his confidence faltering, and he spoke without thinking. “You might hear something interesting if you point me to Wei Wuxian’s room. Quickly and politely.”

Huang Yang liked the sound of that. He let a smirk cross his lips as he pointed in the direction of Wei Wuxian’s room, eyes not moving away from Lan Zhan as he did. “Pleasure doing business,” he said.

Lan Zhan looked at the door and unconsciously licked his lips, putting this behind him. Target acquired. He gave Huang Yang one last stare before he walked over. He raised his hand and quietly knocked three times.

Wei Wuxian had been making notes on things to try as per his last conjuration class when he heard the knock on the door. Who would come to visit him at this time of night? Jiang Wanyin usually just let himself in, or would at the very least, knock louder than that.

He got up from his seat at the desk and opened the door, he was clad in only a thin undershirt and a pair of shorts, ready to go to bed when he was done working. The last person he had expected to see behind that door was Lan Zhan. “Lan Zhan…!” he uttered. Then, he grabbed Lan Zhan’s wrist, sparing only a moment to look around him to see if anyone was watching, and then pulled him inside. He shut the door quickly behind him once he was inside his room.

“What are you doing here? Are you nuts? People will have seen you come here.”

Admittedly, Lan Zhan giggled a little when he was yanked in, but he pretended he hadn't. He felt so naughty -- which he _was._

"Gege is gone tonight," he said. "And I'm only here to get help with my research." He took off his bookbag and held it up, then added, "As far as anyone else is concerned."

“You’d have to be pretty gullible to believe you’ve come for research help this late,” Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head. He huffed and sat back down at his desk. “I’m surprised you made the effort to come all this way up here.”

Lan Zhan dropped his bag and toed off his boots, then locked the door before he walked over and perched himself in Wei Wuxian's lap. He set his arm over his shoulder and said, "Then make it worth my while." He leaned in for a kiss and just before their lips touched he breathed a quiet, "Missed you."

In the few days they hadn’t seen each other, Wei Wuxian had managed to push Lan Zhan a bit further back in his mind. He had worries and insecurities about being used, about not being cared about despite his best efforts.

But now Lan Zhan was sat in his lap, close enough that he could feel the heat of his skin and inhale that sweet scent, it was impossible to push him away. He had an immense amount of power and he definitely knew that. There was no fighting it. Wei Wuxian’s body tingled when Lan Zhan said that he missed him, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up just yet. He put his hands on his sides and closed the gap.

Wei Wuxian's kisses were sweet. Not in taste but in how it made Lan Zhan's stomach tickle, how it made him melt. He really had missed him. It was hard to go to sleep now that he knew what it was like to cuddle with someone. He wouldn't admit that much out loud, but he would allow himself to indulge in his desires tonight.

He kissed Wei Wuxian slowly and savored every bit of it, his other hand sliding up his chest and neck and ending up in that messy hair. He took Wei Wuxian's bottom lip between his teeth and gently pulled.

Wei Wuxian groaned into his mouth. He felt a repressed ache bubble to surface. Lan Zhan did the craziest things to him. His fingers slid up to cup his jaw, tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss. As he did, he reached to see where he had left his claim a few days prior, and felt a pang of disappointment when he could only feel a very slight indent, only noticing it because he knew the bite used to be there.

Lan Zhan easily followed his lead. He was content to let Wei Wuxian call the shots for now, at least until he got bored. "You can do another one," he whispered before licking over Wei Wuxian's bottom lip.

There was no hesitation for Wei Wuxian. He had been offered to make another claim and he was going to take it right now. He tilted Lan Zhan’s head to the side and planted one kiss on the spot at the base of his neck before he sunk his teeth in. This time, he hung on a little longer, just to make sure the claim would last a few days extra.

_"Aah--!"_ Lan Zhan cut off the moan as quickly as he could, knowing it was just a bit too loud. He pushed himself into Wei Wuxian, his hands moving to grasp at his shirt. He hadn't been expecting Wei Wuxian to do it immediately, but he wasn't complaining.

Somehow it didn't hurt as much as what it would be like if Wei Wuxian bit his arm or something. Now that he had experienced it twice he confirmed that that was the case. That part of the body was apparently well-built for this kind of thing. He had still been keeping his scent locked up but the direct stimulation made it all come out, and once again he could smell the tangy change of the claim. He liked that smell.

Wei Wuxian licked over the bite once it was done. He liked the sight of this. A part of him wished he could lay a hard claim on him. He _wanted_ to have Lan Zhan all to himself, forever, he _wanted_ to be selfish. But Lan Zhan… did not seem to want the same things as him. “You don’t let anyone else do this, do you? It’s just me?” he said.

Lan Zhan ducked his hands under Wei Wuxian’s shirt and felt around his abdomen and chest, enjoying the ache from the claim. He nipped lightly on the shell of his ear and murmured, “No one else could satisfy me like you do. I’ve never wanted anyone so bad...”

Wei Wuxian bit back any remark about how this was _all_ Lan Zhan wanted from him. He let out a low rumble in his throat and started pulling apart Lan Zhan’s clothes, moving his mouth over every bit of exposed skin when he could.

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath and tilted his head back and closed his eyes. It felt so good to have Wei Wuxian’s hands and mouth on him. It was like they belonged there. He moved his arms so the robes could drop from his shoulders and pool around his hips. He didn’t untie the strings at his neck or the middle of his back to remove the dudou; Wei Wuxian could do that if he wanted to. Instead he grabbed the hem of Wei Wuxian’s shirt and pulled it over his head.

Wei Wuxian wanted to see Lan Zhan naked before him, in his lap. He shucked off the shirt when it was pulled from it, tossing it to the side, before fumbling with the ties of Lan Zhan’s dudou and taking that off as well. His hands let go of him briefly to push his books to one side on the desk and then grabbed at Lan Zhan’s hips, lifting him up and resting him on the new space. He kissed down his chest and licked over one of his nipples.

Lan Zhan never liked being very exposed, especially in a place that was unfamiliar to him. He found himself shaking from the nervousness it brought him, his aroused scent tinging with fear. His instincts were telling him _cover up, hide, it’s not safe here, there’s so many alphas nearby._

But he chose to do it anyway. There was something special about this, about letting Wei Wuxian undress him in his room. He was making himself extremely vulnerable — not just emotionally, but physically. He trusted Wei Wuxian _so_ much, and this was a clear demonstration of that.

Maybe it was dangerous to trust him this much, since he hadn’t even known him for very long, but Lan Zhan didn’t care much about the danger in it. He wanted this. He wanted to trust Wei Wuxian with something as valuable as his safety, even if that alone would scare the shit out of him if he thought about it later.

He slid his fingers up Wei Wuxian’s neck and buried them in his hair. He leaned forward, pushing himself into that mouth he loved so much, and ducked his head to rest his cheek on the top of his head.

Wei Wuxian was happy to keep descending down his body once he’d had his fill of his chest and nipples. As he kissed down under his navel, he glanced up at Lan Zhan. “I want to suck your cock again,” he said.

Lan Zhan looked down at him and nodded. He shivered again and when he breathed in it was erratic. He hated how his body was shaking like this, but there was nothing he could do about it. He tried to take a deep, slow breath.

Wei Wuxian palmed at Lan Zhan’s crotch with an open hand before untying the laces holding his pants together and wiggled them down his legs. He spared Lan Zhan a glance as he took the initiative to untie his pants and remove all of his clothing until he was naked on his desk.

“Beautiful…” he whispered before sinking down to nestle himself between Lan Zhan’s legs.

If Lan Zhan thought being topless was nerve-wracking, being completely naked was an entirely different animal. He shivered violently, his body acting like it was outside in the dead of winter, and he gripped Wei Wuxian’s hair to ground himself. It was like he didn’t want to breathe, but he managed to force himself to take in a deep, shaky breath. If he could just _stop shaking..._ If the desk started creaking or something because of it he would get pissed at himself.

He hadn’t really anticipated the reality of doing this in Wei Wuxian’s room. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have come. That didn’t mean he regretted it; he _wanted_ this. He also appreciated Wei Wuxian ignoring his obvious nerves. Maybe once he got into it his body would calm down a little.

Of course, Wei Wuxian had noticed the shaking but he knew that Lan Zhan definitely did not want him to bring it up. He decided to simply consume himself in burying his face between his legs. Wei Wuxian licked a stripe up Lan Zhan’s cock and suckled on the head before taking it into the wet heat of his mouth.

Lan Zhan bit his lip. He couldn’t make himself quiet this time, not with how tense he was, and his moan was wobbly and broken, only dampened by his mouth being closed. He felt himself harden and he curled his hands into fists around Wei Wuxian’s hair.

He hadn’t really been planning to give Huang Yang and his buddies entertainment, but he supposed that if they really were listening then he’d end up holding up his end of that silly deal no matter what. He would try to not be _loud;_ a simple feat since he couldn’t really be loud even if he wanted to. But he might not be able to stay quite as silent as he usually was.

He briefly asked himself if he _cared_ that other alphas could be listening, and he found that he didn’t. Not _those_ alphas, anyway. They already saw him in a sexual manner so it wasn’t anymore debasing than what they already had in their perverted minds. He didn’t want them _looking_ but if they happened to overhear him, he wouldn’t bat an eyelash about it.

Having enough of any thoughts about other people, Lan Zhan looked down at Wei Wuxian and appreciated the sight. It was enough to distract him and his shaking suddenly stopped. It felt so nice and hot, it _looked_ nice and hot too. He could watch this for the rest of his life and be happy.

Wei Wuxian had decided after the first time that he very much liked doing this, having Lan Zhan in his mouth, and Lan Zhan had said himself that he enjoyed the sight as well as how it felt to have him do this. It killed two birds with one stone. He balanced himself on Lan Zhan’s hips as he bobbed his head, taking in as much of Lan Zhan’s cock as he could, saliva dribbling down the shaft, and then moved back up again to tongue at his head. After a little while of this, Wei Wuxian moved one hand down under Lan Zhan’s cock to briefly fondle the small balls there and then dipped to touch his opening. He was already so wet and soft, it was mesmerising. Wei Wuxian hummed around his shaft, letting the vibrations tingle the skin, before slipping a finger inside and curling into his sweet spot.

Lan Zhan pulled up one foot to rest on the desk, effectively opening himself up more. He was still nervous and every now and then his body or his jaw would shake, but at least now he could mostly stay still. He tilted his head back and chewed on his lip. He didn’t like sitting up like this because his reflex was to lay down and arch his back, but he liked the sight of Wei Wuxian sucking him off on his desk.

“Wei Wuxian,” he whimpered before pulling in a shallow gasp.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t help a small croon at the sound of Lan Zhan gasping his name like that. It was exactly what he wanted. Lan Zhan naked on his desk, bucking into his mouth, and moaning for him. It was perfect. He continued to suck him off with vigour, slowly easing a second finger inside him and pressing both deep inside to rub up against all of his sensitive places that he had come to familiarise himself with.

“Mmmm—“ Lan Zhan’s voice wavered and broke off. He shifted a little and rocked back and forth a few times, not knowing what to do with himself. Was he even able to cum like this, on the desk? He was so used to writhing around on the bed. It only got worse as the minutes went on. His breath was shallow and he started to sweat from the strain of keeping himself contained. His body jumped and moved, and not from nerves anymore. The fire was slowly building in him and now it was hot and getting close to unbearable.

“Ah, W--... Wei W—mmm...” he squirmed as much as the position allowed him to, his hands tugging a little on Wei Wuxian’s hair.

Wei Wuxian _wanted_ to see him cum like this and wasn’t going to let up until he did. He increased the speed of his fingers to better match how he was sucking on his cock. He glanced up at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Lan Zhan saw that glint and he wanted to snap at him, but he was in no position to do anything except moan and squirm. He chewed on his lip and panted and squeezed his eyes shut. It was frustrating and yet _so_ good. He felt his body tense up again and he followed it, his hands pulling Wei Wuxian's hair again. He came with a quiet groan, and he noticed how different it felt when it was in a place like this. Somehow the feeling of being naughty, that he was cumming in a place that _wasn't_ his own room, made a cold rush go through him.

Dutifully, Wei Wuxian swallowed down everything Lan Zhan put out. He pulled off his cock with a wet pop and removed his fingers, then licked his lips. “Good?” he asked.

Lan Zhan could only make a small sound in response between his heavy breaths. "Perfect," he breathed after a moment. He was tempted to cover himself up again, but he kind of liked the thrill. He looked down. "Your desk is going to smell like slick now."

“That’s fine,” Wei Wuxian said. It could be cleaned later. He slithered back up Lan Zhan’s body and captured his lips, cupping his cheeks with his hands as he deepened it and slid his tongue in his mouth. He was breathless when they parted. “Can I fuck you on my desk too?”

"Yes," Lan Zhan said immediately, his voice rough. It wasn't going to be comfortable, that was for sure. But this wasn't about comfort. He could get comfortable afterwards. This was so he could go back to his room preening at the knowledge that he got sucked off and fucked on Wei Wuxian's desk. There was just something so dirty about that.

Wei Wuxian let out a pleased hum and pulled away from Lan Zhan to pull his hard cock out from his shorts. Just seeing Lan Zhan moan and writhe on his desk had been enough to turn him on. He gave himself a few strokes and then grabbed hold of Lan Zhan’s hips. “Hold on, okay?” Wei Wuxian warned him. He positioned his cock at his opening and eased half way inside before moving both hands to his hips and pulling him so he was half hanging off the desk and his back flat against the wood.

Lan Zhan wiggled around a little, trying in vain to find something comfortable. He crossed his ankles behind Wei Wuxian's back and reached up to grip the edge of the table above his head once he checked that it wasn't too close to the wall. It was a surprisingly sturdy table. When he thought he was as ready as he could get, he looked at Wei Wuxian through his lashes.

Once they had adjusted to the current position, Wei Wuxian wasted no time. He sunk all the way inside Lan Zhan and let out a soft moan. It felt incredible every time. He remained there for just a few moments, just to catch his breath, and then he started thrusting in and out of him.

Lan Zhan grunted and tilted his head back. It was so intense after that first one, as it always was. He let go of the table with one hand and used it to wrap around his cock. He didn't pump very fast, just enough to give a little stimulation.

“I can’t believe you came all the way over to the alpha dorms like this just to get fucked by me,” Wei Wuxian breathed as he built up a steady rhythm.

Lan Zhan looked helplessly at Wei Wuxian. He liked it when he said things like that, meant to degrade him. He wanted to make a comment about how using his fingers never did justice to Wei Wuxian's cock, his mouth, his piercing eyes. But he couldn't seem to form sentences very well at the moment, so all that came out was a whiny, "Need you..."

“Need _me?_ Don’t you mean my knot, Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian replied. He squeezed Lan Zhan’s hips and fucked in a little harder, deriving amusement when he struggled to reply with each hard thrust. “You can’t recreate my knot.”

"No-- I--" Lan Zhan stifled a groan as best he could. He felt the need to explain, and maybe he also enjoyed trying to talk during this. It was like a challenge, albeit one that he knew he probably wouldn't pass.

"I like-- I wa- _ah,_ I want, talk to me-- _yes, yes!"_ To his horror he actually started speaking the stupid single-word thoughts that always filled his mind when Wei Wuxian went hard like this. He bit his swollen lip to silence himself, lest he start doing something embarrassing like _begging._

Wei Wuxian groaned at his desperate words. Lan Zhan was a delight when he acted like this. He wanted to hear more of it. “You like it when I talk to you like this? You like it when I imply you’re a little _slut_ who couldn’t wait to be fucked by me?” he said in a husky voice between punched breaths.

He could hardly believe these words were slipping out of his mouth. Hopefully Lan Zhan would forgive him. His hand slid up and caressed the soft skin of Lan Zhan’s neck, thumbing over his throat, before reaching up to grasp his jaw, tilting his head back. “Did your pussy ache for me? Did you fuck yourself thinking of me?”

The hand on his throat made Lan Zhan's heart race. It was so primal. "Yes," he breathed, _"yesyesyes--"_ He pulled his hand away from his cock and slapped it over his mouth. _Gods, right there, keep that angle, yes, yes, yes,_ his thoughts continued. He was especially desperate for some reason.

Wei Wuxian was quick to pull Lan Zhan’s hand away from his mouth. He couldn’t be having him censoring himself like that, not when he was making such delightful noises. “I want to hear you,” he rasped. “I want to hear you cry for me, beg, moan my name.”

Lan Zhan's hand joined the other one at the edge of the table. Of course he wasn't going to do it now that Wei Wuxian asked him to -- at least he would put more of an effort into staying silent. He held his breath for a few seconds, then grunted, "Make me."

Wei Wuxian grabbed both of Lan Zhan’s wrists in one hand and pinned them above his head. He let his other hand replace where Lan Zhan had been not too long ago, wrapping around his cock and stroke it in tandem with his thrusts. He made the extra effort to thrust into the place that he knew it felt best.

“You have some nerve getting cocky with me after you paraded yourself up here looking like a pretty little slut, sitting on my lap and pleading for my cock with your eyes,” he said.

Adrenaline rushed through Lan Zhan and he pulled weakly at his hands but they were held tight. He couldn't get enough of this forceful attitude. It always sent him a little wild. He tried to come up with a retort but he could barely start before he was cumming already. Wei Wuxian's name on his lips morphed into the filthiest moan he'd ever made.

Feeling Lan Zhan convulse around him like that was enough to push Wei Wuxian over the edge as well. He gave a few more stuttering thrusts, fucking him through his orgasm, and then came with a moan of his own. He filled Lan Zhan with his cum, hot and wet, and then his knot begun to expand inside him.

Another moan forced through Lan Zhan's throat when that knot swelled up. It pressed against his walls so tight and made that sensitive spot ache in the most pleasant way. He was struck with how filthy this was, seeing his own legs spread wide, the memory of that debased moan still fresh in his mind. It hadn't been _loud_ in any sense of the word _,_ but it was the kind that betrayed _exactly_ how good he felt.

It took Wei Wuxian a moment to catch his breath. Once he did, he let go of Lan Zhan’s wrists and looked at him properly. “How come you don’t moan like that when we do it in your bed?” he said.

Lan Zhan looked away in embarrassment. “I’ve never done that before,” he said quietly.

It was the truth, but to be fair, he had only had sex a few times and he rarely ever made sound when he masturbated. The surprised, overwhelmed or whiny and pathetic moans he had been letting out before were apparently only part of his repertoire. Maybe being called a slut and knowing exactly how true that was played a role.

“I liked it,” Wei Wuxian assured him. He leaned against him and took a deep breath. “I didn’t go too far, did I?”

Lan Zhan shook his head. "You can do more," he said. He hesitated before he said, "I like it." He squirmed a bit. "Can we go to the bed?"

Wei Wuxian nodded. “Hold on to me.” He wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan and lifted him off the desk. He carefully carried him over to his bed and set him down, quickly following on top of him as to not disturb his knot.

Lan Zhan held Wei Wuxian's shoulders until he was set down, then he shifted to get comfortable. He liked being in this position with Wei Wuxian on top of him... he felt secure. "You can degrade me during sex," he said after a moment.

“I really don’t know what to make of that… It just sort of slipped out of me, I didn’t mean any of it. I really do think you’re beautiful and amazing and…” Wei Wuxian stopped himself midsentence, letting out a little grumble before hiding his face against Lan Zhan. “Sorry. I know you don’t want to hear it.”

"It's okay," Lan Zhan whispered. He drew little swirling patterns on Wei Wuxian's chest. "You're the only one that gets to say those rude things to me. Because..." He paused. Why _did_ he like it when Wei Wuxian was mean to him? "...Because I know you respect me. And you would stop if I said.”

“The last thing I want to do is hurt you in any way. Tell me to stop and I will,” Wei Wuxian said, confirming Lan Zhan’s statement. He meant it, truly.

Lan Zhan hummed and closed his eyes, feeling relaxed. "You can hurt me too," he whispered. "If I misbehave."

“For you to misbehave, you would have to behave first,” Wei Wuxian replied with a small laugh.

That made Lan Zhan smile a little. "I'm good," he argued, knowing it was a lie.

“Mmmm I beg to differ,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile. He pressed kisses to every bit of skin he could reach, hoping to find a few ticklish spots as he went.

Lan Zhan stretched his arms above his head and arched his back with a low moan that turned into a purr when he relaxed again. He was perfectly content there with Wei Wuxian's knot and his attention. He yawned; the curfew bell hadn't rung yet, but it was probably getting close.

Wei Wuxian leaned his forehead against Lan Zhan’s, content to be here with him in this moment. He wished he could tell him all the things he was holding in his chest, tell him how much he liked him, how he wanted to _be_ with him, court him. He just wanted to hold his hand and show him to the world. Most of all, he wanted Lan Zhan to be _his._

Lan Zhan happily dozed until the knot went down. He made a short whiny noise and squirmed, already missing the feeling. He had considered bringing up that _other_ topic again, but after last time he was hesitant to do so. Wei Wuxian hadn't seemed offended when Lan Zhan had said he wanted to top, he even said it was okay, but he acted weird afterwards. He should save it for another time; he didn't want anything to ruin the coziness in the room.

“Are you staying the night?” Wei Wuxian asked as he slowly pulled out and then rolled onto his back next to Lan Zhan. It didn’t take him long to shuck off his shorts completely and pull the blankets over their naked bodies.

"Is that okay?" Lan Zhan asked. He had assumed it would be, since Wei Wuxian had slept in his bed too, but part of him worried that he was wrong. If he was, he would have to skedaddle pretty quickly before the bell rang.

“Of course,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He pulled Lan Zhan into his arms and snuggled up to him, nuzzling against him. He fit perfectly in his arms.

Lan Zhan purred and snuggled back, wiggling around until he found the perfect spot for himself against Wei Wuxian's body. His heart fluttered at the affection and he refused to ponder over that. Not right now. He would just let himself exist without overthinking and messing everything up, just for one night.

"Can I take down the barrier?" he asked. "It'll get hot in here."

“I know I’m handsome but you don’t need to go that far,” Wei Wuxian said with a laugh. He kissed his cheek. “But yes, you can take the barrier down if you want to.”

Lan Zhan took it down and sighed as the cool night air came in. "Goodnight," he murmured, nuzzling into Wei Wuxian's neck. He was still very wet between his legs and it bothered him a little, but it didn't matter too much. If the slick was still there in the morning he could wipe it off on his dirty clothes.

“Goodnight,” Wei Wuxian replied. He kissed his cheek and then closed his eyes as rubbed his cheek against him. It was easy to fall asleep like this, with Lan Zhan in his arms.


	13. Vulnerability

Thankfully, Lan Zhan woke up before the morning bell. It was pretty close though, judging by the faint sound of chirping birds. He was on top of Wei Wuxian, though he didn't remember climbing on top of him during the night.

He stretched and noticed that Wei Wuxian's dick was hard. It reminded him of the morning at that inn and he smiled a little bit. He propped himself up on his elbow and slid his hand under the sheets, then slowly drew his finger up and down the underside of it and watched carefully for the moment Wei Wuxian woke up.

Wei Wuxian had been sleeping peacefully until that moment. Subconsciously, he let out a soft moan, his dick twitching under Lan Zhan’s ministrations. He stirred a little, then his eyes fluttered open to meet Lan Zhan’s gaze.

“Oh…” he gasped. “Good morning to you too.”

Lan Zhan's small smile remained and he wrapped his hand around the impressive girth. He stroked it at an agonizingly slow pace, still just gazing into Wei Wuxian's eyes. It was still dark so he couldn't see the color very well, but he knew they were a beautiful blue-gray.

Wei Wuxian sighed and leaned his head back against the pillows, hips bucking up into that sweet friction that Lan Zhan was putting out. "Faster... please."

Lan Zhan didn't go faster. Instead he shuffled a bit until he could line himself up. He was still wet from the night before, so there shouldn't be any problem—

He frowned. It wasn't going in... why didn't it fit? Lan Zhan bounced minutely but any time the head of Wei Wuxian's cock reached that tight muscle inside him it hurt. He was tempted to just sit down anyway and heal himself if need be, but healing couldn't do much for pain. He made a whiny noise and decided to stay where he was and get Wei Wuxian off with his hand like he had that morning at the inn.

“Have you noticed that I always make you cum before I even try and fuck you?” Wei Wuxian said between moans as he noticed Lan Zhan’s struggle. He reached up and caressed his hip. “But… maybe you could try putting your mouth on it? Just this once… If you don’t like it, we don’t have to do it again.”

Lan Zhan seriously considered it. It sounded gross, and he didn't really think he would enjoy it, but it had a possible side-effect that he was _very_ interested in. "Only if you watch me," he said.

“Are you kidding? Of course I want to watch,” Wei Wuxian replied. He shoved the covers off them so he could properly expose himself to Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan scooted down the bed and wrapped himself in the blankets at the bottom of the bed. He settled between Wei Wuxian's legs and looked his cock up and down before moving his gaze to Wei Wuxian's face. He started out with just nuzzling against it, feeling it pulse against his cheek. He felt like being a tease; he didn’t really want to put it completely in his mouth, but he did want to see Wei Wuxian’s reactions.

Now that he thought about it, it was a very degrading position to be in. He usually heard about this sort of thing from alphas who talked about making him do it to them as a way to harass him. Maybe that was another reason why he was averse to it. Was he really going to let Wei Wuxian put him in this position? He remembered the night before, being naked and vulnerable on the desk…

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched when he saw Lan Zhan rub his cheek against his cock. It was delightfully erotic, seeing his face so close to him, tantalising. He stared down at him with dilated pupils, his fingers fisting the sheets underneath him.

“Lan Zhan,” he whispered. “Please.”

Lan Zhan turned his head a little so he could press a small kiss to the shaft. He settled his left hand on the base played with those massive balls with his right. _Gods_ they were huge. How was it not awkward carrying this stuff around? He blinked up at Wei Wuxian, making sure he wasn’t going to look away, then he stuck his tongue out and drew it up the length.

Wei Wuxian did not tear his eyes away from his and he let out a soft moan when Lan Zhan drew his tongue up his cock. “Mmm… Yes,” he rasped.

Nuzzling against it again, Lan Zhan felt a prick of annoyance at the fact that Wei Wuxian didn’t have a pussy. It was so inconvenient. Would it taste sweet if he did? He let go of his balls and instead pressed his thumb hard against his perineum in wishful thinking.

Wei Wuxian let out a stuttering gasp at the push. He bucked his hips up again, rolling them into Lan Zhan’s touch. Hesitantly, he let go of the sheets to card his fingers through Lan Zhan’s hair.

That reaction interested Lan Zhan. “What did that feel like?” he asked.

He realized his hair was probably messed up; he hadn’t taken it out of its topknot the night before. He reached up to pull off the ribbon, and went ahead and took his forehead ribbon off too.

“It… It felt surprisingly good. Um. It’s hard to explain,” Wei Wuxian said. He wiggled a little on the sheets. “Do it again?”

Lan Zhan pressed this thumb against that spot again, this time keeping the pressure there and rolling it in little circles. He kept his lips against Wei Wuxian’s shaft, enjoying the way the vein pulsed against them.

It was strange to feel this kind of pleasure coming from anywhere except his cock. Wei Wuxian let out another groan, gaze still fixated on Lan Zhan.

“I… I want to fuck your mouth,” he breathed.

“Mmm that’s too bad,” Lan Zhan cooed softly. He did give Wei Wuxian’s cock a pity stroke, and left his hand at the top to thumb at the head. It was one way of turning around the frightening power dynamic this position put him in. He licked up the shaft again.

That made Wei Wuxian whine. “Lan Zhan…please. Have mercy, won’t you? After all the time I spent sucking your cock, eating you out…”

Lan Zhan let go, though he kept his right hand messing with that weird spot on his perineum. Sliding his hand under the blankets, he reached between his own legs and stuck a finger inside himself. He wanted to sit on that cock, whatever it took. He nosed at the base and then drew another stripe with his tongue.

Wei Wuxian remembered what Lan Zhan had sad last night, about allowing Wei Wuxian to be rough with him, degrade him. He licked his lips and curled his fingers into a fist in Lan Zhan’s hair so he had a firm grip on it. Now, he could pull him up and push the head of his cock against his lips.

Lan Zhan’s eyes went wide. That was a bold move, one that he didn’t think Wei Wuxian was capable of. But even though he really wasn’t too excited about sucking cock, this forcefulness interested him and his aroused scent spiked. It was this counterintuitive fixation he had on being forced; the idea of willingly submitting was genuinely upsetting to him but being wrestled into submission without him offering it up felt somehow safer, emotionally. It made no sense. It wasn’t like he _wanted_ to be forced in real life. He spent most of his life fearing that exact concept. But with Wei Wuxian, in a situation like this, completely under his control… it was delicious. He pushed another finger inside himself and gave Wei Wuxian a challenging look, his lips still closed.

“Do you really expect me to believe that you don’t want to suck my cock when I can smell how horny you are from here? When you’ve got two fingers in your pussy? This gets you off and you know it,” Wei Wuxian said. He pushed his cock against his lips again, smearing precum against them.

Lan Zhan felt spoiled. He started purring and held his breath until he could get it under control. It was hard to stop purring once he started, but sometimes embarrassment or awkwardness could do the trick. When he was safe, he breathed out through his nose and turned his head slightly to the left, rubbing the head of Wei Wuxian’s cock against his cheek. His eyes bright with amusement, he finally opened his mouth to ask, “How do you know what I’m doing under the blanket?”

“Maybe you don’t realise it but you make this small noise in your throat whenever I put a finger inside you,” Wei Wuxian said breathlessly. “You’ve done it twice. I know you’re fingering yourself under there Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan hadn’t noticed, but when he thought back he realized that Wei Wuxian was right. _Hm. He’s smart._ “Maybe I just want to stretch myself open,” he argued.

“You’re just surprised I know, aren’t you? I pay a lot of attention to you,” Wei Wuxian said with a little smirk. He used his grip on his hair to tilt his head again and rub his cock against his lips once more. “Now come on. Am I going to have to make you open your mouth?”

That sounded _real_ nice. Lan Zhan wouldn’t open his mouth anyway, he wouldn’t lower himself to such a level of obedience, not without some convincing threats involved. He kept his lips sealed and stared up at Wei Wuxian with stubborn eyes.

Wei Wuxian took that as an answer. He sighed dramatically, a twinkle in his eyes. “You like to misbehave, don’t you?” he said and then sat up on the bed. “Well, no worries. If you won’t be a good boy for me, it’s fine. You’ll be stretching yourself out for nothing though. I won’t fuck your pussy until you suck me off properly.”

Lan Zhan’s eyebrows twitched. Now that was a threat. “You won’t either if you cum in my mouth,” he argued.

He had him there. Well, Wei Wuxian had a better idea. He’d been doing his research since the first time he’d used a toy on Lan Zhan and he had something up his sleeve. Of course, he hadn’t actually tried it yet, but the theory was all there.

“Hmm, maybe. But then I guess you won’t get to play with the new toy I learnt how to make for you,” he said.

New toy? Lan Zhan visibly perked up, though he quickly went back to being stoic. Why hadn’t he mentioned that before? Was he bluffing? “What toy?” he asked.

“I was working on something for you when you came in last night. At my desk. I guess if you want to find out what it does, you’ll have to open your mouth and behave,” Wei Wuxian told him with a cock of an eyebrow.

Lan Zhan juggled his options. He didn’t want to have to willingly open his mouth like some kind of obedient omega, but... he wanted to know what this toy was. Wei Wuxian had given him the fuck of his life the other day just with the one he came up with then. And if he had bared himself completely and given up every shred of defense he had the night before, couldn’t he do this too? The morning bell was going to ring at some point and he would have to leave... He hesitantly opened his mouth, just a little bit. _This better be worth it._

“No teeth. And relax your jaw and throat, okay?” Wei Wuxian said. He took his cock in hand with his other hand and eased it inside Lan Zhan’s mouth, making him open wider.

“Oh…” It felt good. Very good. Admittedly, the indignant expression on Lan Zhan’s face paired with his lips wrapped around his cock made things even better. He started rocking gently into his mouth at first, letting him get used to the sensation.

Lan Zhan was right; sucking cock wasn’t that fun. It didn’t taste gross like he had expected it to, though the precum did have a little bit of bitterness to it. It was awkward getting his mouth in the right position with his teeth out of the way. He didn’t know what Wei Wuxian meant by ‘relax your jaw and throat’ but he made an attempt. He glared up at him and pulled his fingers out of himself and laid both hands flat on Wei Wuxian’s hips. His two fingers were wet and he smelled the slick on them. Why couldn’t Wei Wuxian have a pussy...

Did Lan Zhan realise how scandalised he looked? It made Wei Wuxian’s cock throb against his tongue. This was even better than he imagined. His mouth was so wet… tight.

“Good boy,” he cooed as he thrust in and out of his mouth, letting out small moans as he did. “You feel good…mmm… so pretty with your lips around my cock.”

Lan Zhan didn’t stop glaring, not while Wei Wuxian called him a _good boy._ He wasn’t _good._ He wrapped his hand around the bottom half of his cock, not letting it go in further than that. He didn’t trust himself not to gag.

After a little while of thrusting into his mouth, Wei Wuxian could feel himself reaching his limit. He moaned loudly and wiped the drool from Lan Zhan’s chin with the hand that wasn’t buried his hair. “I’m going to cum,” he told him with another groan. “You’ll swallow it for me, won’t you?”

He certainly would not. Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose in response. He didn’t like the taste of cum, he would have to really scrub his mouth when he got back to his room. It would be rubbed raw by that point; his mouth was already tingling from the friction.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t hold on any longer. He thrust a couple more times and then pulled back so only the head was inside Lan Zhan’s mouth as he came with a moan of his name. Partway through his orgasm, he pulled his cock completely out and squirted the last few splashes of cum over Lan Zhan’s lips and cheek.

“Gods…” he rasped, looking down and taking in the sight of Lan Zhan’s raw lips and the cum painting his face. “I’ll remember this sight for the rest of my life.”

Lan Zhan scowled and took Wei Wuxian’s hand and wiped it over his face where the cum had landed. That was gross. Even though it was kind of hot watching it just squirt out... he opened his mouth and pushed all of the cum on his tongue out onto the bed and spit the rest. _Eugh... gods that was nasty._ He much preferred cum to be where it belonged: between his legs.

“I hope you intend to wash those sheets for me,” Wei Wuxian said with a hint of amusement as he watched Lan Zhan spit out the cum.

Lan Zhan was tempted to accept on the condition that Wei Wuxian actually come see him again and not wait another damn two weeks. But that seemed too desperate. He sat up and grabbed the blankets to keep them on his shoulders as he crawled up Wei Wuxian’s body. He couldn’t see outside since the single curtain was drawn, but he could hear the birds a little more now. It was still mostly dark in the room, though his eyes had long adjusted to it. “The morning bell will ring soon,” he said. “Show me that toy before I go.”

Wei Wuxian hummed. “I suppose you’ve earnt it.” He focused his magic and summoned the toy in question. It looked like the regular toy that he had used on Lan Zhan the other day – realistic looking and thick. He looked up at Lan Zhan and then the made the toy vibrate.

Lan Zhan blinked at it. It was the same toy. The low humming was new, but he didn’t really know what the difference was. “It is the same,” he said, looking at Wei Wuxian skeptically. “You were bluffing...”

Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and took Lan Zhan’s hand and put it on top of the toy so he could feel the vibrations. “No, it’s different,” he said.

Lan Zhan jumped and pulled his hand away, his eyes wide. What _was_ that? He had never felt anything like it... not on an object anyway. It was like putting his hand on his throat when he purred, or like holding a flying insect in his hand. “I don’t understand,” he said quietly.

“I wanted to make it move inside you,” Wei Wuxian explained. “I found out how to do this. I think it’ll feel good when I put it in you.”

It seemed daunting to Lan Zhan. But it had felt good when Wei Wuxian hummed around his cock, so it probably wasn’t _bad..._ “Okay,” he said hesitantly.

“I suppose you have to go though,” Wei Wuxian said tiredly. “I can come by tomorrow, after my classes, if you want to try it out.”

Lan Zhan bit his lip. It would be best for him to leave now. But he wanted to know what the toy felt like... but then again, this would ensure that Wei Wuxian would come to his room.

“Don’t keep me waiting,” he said quietly. He leaned down to kiss him just because he could, then he slid out from under the covers to get the clean clothes he had brought for himself. It was chilly in the room since the window had been open all night.

“How are you going to get out of here?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“If I’m fast I can go out the door,” Lan Zhan said. “If the sky is light enough I’ll use the ladder.” He quickly pulled his hair back into an easy style and tied his forehead ribbon on.

“If you need me to walk you out, I will,” Wei Wuxian said. He pushed himself out of bed and grabbed a fresh set of clothes to change into.

“No,” Lan Zhan said. “No one will do anything.” He pulled open the curtain just enough for him to peek through. The sky wasn’t dark anymore, but it wasn’t yet light either. He had at least five minutes probably.

He turned and pulled Wei Wuxian into one last kiss, tugging a bit on his bottom lip with his teeth as he moved away. “See you tomorrow,” he said quietly before he went to get his bag and picked up his boots.

Wei Wuxian watched Lan Zhan go. Once he was gone, he finished changing and gathered his sheets for washing. He also gathered a damp cloth to clean his desk of the stench of slick. All of this still felt so hollow, but he couldn’t seem to quell the excitement he felt bubbling in anticipation of seeing Lan Zhan again.

Lan Zhan held his boots in his hands and ran as fast as he could on the balls of his feet so as not to be heard. The bell rang when he was on the first floor, but thankfully no one sailed out of bed and threw open the door so he was safe. It was uncomfortable running around with his dick hard in his underwear but it would go down soon. He put on his boots before he left the building and sprinted like a maniac over to his own dorm building. He was glad that the morning bell was so early and people usually didn’t leave until the second one announcing breakfast rang. He bathed and scrubbed his mouth out with soap. He had a lot of work to do that day for his research, he probably wouldn’t even go to meals and just eat fruits in his room. It was one perk of being a life mage.

Wei Wuxian attended his classes as normal that day. He thought about Lan Zhan most of the day, but he managed to get his work done regardless.

When he arrived back at the dorms after dinner, he noticed that a slip of paper had been put under his door. He picked up and read it.

_See me in my room, I want to have a chat. Don’t worry you’re not in trouble! – Lan Xichen :)_

Weird. Wei Wuxian set down his bag in his room and then left to go upstairs to Lan Xichen’s room. He hovered outside the door for a moment and then knocked.

Lan Xichen brightened up and rose from his low desk over towards the door. "Coming!" he called. He opened the door and smiled brightly at Wei Wuxian. "Thank you for stopping by!" he said as he walked in and gestured at the cushions around his table. "Come sit."

Even though Lan Xichen had assured him that he was not in any trouble, Wei Wuxian felt apprehensive. He walked inside and took a seat as requested.

“Hey. How are you doing?” he said.

"I'm doing just fine," Lan Xichen said as he sat down across from Wei Wuxian. He gestured at the stack of papers on the side of the table. "I've got papers to grade since I was on a trip yesterday. Anyways, I'll get right to the point."

He clapped his hands together and narrowed his eyes. "Are you sleeping with my little brother? And-- before you answer-- I know he probably wouldn't want me to know even if you were, so if you have to say no I understand, but it would be nice to be aware if you are, that way I can look out for him properly."

Wei Wuxian jumped a little at the question. He licked his lips nervously and shifted in his seat. Lan Zhan definitely would not want him to tell Lan Xichen that they _were_ sleeping together, but maybe it would be in Lan Zhan’s best interest if he knew. So long as Lan Xichen promised not to tell him.

“Uh. No… we are not,” he said, then tapped the side of his nose, hoping Lan Xichen understood.

Lan Xichen nodded. He understood; at least, he had enough information to make an assumption based on Wei Wuxian’s body language and that was good enough. “Okay, well, I’ll tell you this anyway, _just in case,”_ he said with widened eyes, his emphasis exaggerated. “I’m not in any way suggesting you would be this careless, but I’ll explain why I have to say this in a moment. You can _not,_ under any circumstance, get Lan Zhan pregnant.”

“No! No. I won’t. I am very careful, I _will_ continue to be careful,” Wei Wuxian said quickly, shaking his head and his hands. “Not that Lan Zhan would want that, I’m sure. It’s not like we’re courting or anything. He doesn’t… He doesn’t want to be courted by me! So, you don’t have to worry.”

Lan Xichen nodded. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad that you understand. Still, I’m going to tell you about our mother just so you know why this is so important.”

He shifted a little and sighed. “So she was a student here, and she started getting involved with Lan Qingheng, who was the son of the previous headmaster. He was in love with her, but she didn’t love him back -- she still slept with him, though.” He heaved another sigh. “Then he got her pregnant! And she was devastated and embarrassed but she couldn’t go back home because her grandparents didn’t want her. They got married super fast but everyone knew what had happened. He was well-meaning, he said he would take care of her, but he was barely eighteen and honestly didn’t know how to take care of _himself,_ let alone a wife and child. I was born and he didn’t know what to do with me so he pretended I wasn’t there and…”

Lan Xichen trailed off, then shook his head. “Anyway! You probably don’t want to hear about all that. Basically, it was a bad situation for them, so now there’s this extremely awkward atmosphere in our family surrounding sex outside of marriage or courtship. And while they trust me, Lan Zhan is put under a lot more pressure than I am. So, that said, if Lan Zhan were to get pregnant out of nowhere, he would be sent off to live with his father probably. There would be no quick marriage, not unless Lan Zhan could convince our mother. And because Lan Zhan is put under so much pressure, there’s a good chance he would do something like ask someone to help him through his heat but he wouldn’t tell anyone about it to save his life. This is why I have to be proactive.”

He reached under the table and pulled out a small box of vials and set it on the table in front of Wei Wuxian. “You are the only alpha Lan Zhan allows near him, so _even though you aren’t doing anything,_ you might want to hold onto these contraceptive potions. _Just in case._ They need to be taken every day during his heat.”

“These will stop him from getting pregnant? Hypothetically, if that were a risk,” Wei Wuxian asked as he peered in to look at the vials. He wasn’t sure if Lan Zhan would ask him to spend his next heat with him. Sure, they had a lot of sex, but to invite an alpha into your nest during your heat was a big step in intimacy.

Lan Xichen nodded. “As long as he drinks one every day,” he said. “It’s a good idea to take it at dinnertime, makes it easier to remember. And I’m sure that, should this hypothetical situation arise, you would take extra caution to be stealthy as well. Walking around with heat scent on you would be cause for concern.”

“I will be careful, thank you,” Wei Wuxian assured him.

He paused for a moment and then looked up at Lan Xichen. “Lan Zhan has never spoken of your father. I mean, obviously, I’ve met your mother multiple times. She’s a sweet woman. I take it he… wasn’t in your lives? I don’t mean to pry or anything, you don’t have to answer. I’m just curious about Lan Zhan’s roots.”

“No no, it’s fine!” Lan Xichen assured him. Really, it was nice to get to talk about it. “Lan Zhan’s father -- and I call him _Lan Zhan’s father_ for a reason -- is… relatively involved in his life.”

He leaned forward and rested his cheek on his hand. “It’s like this. Lan Qingheng was too young to become a parent. He was immature like many alphas of that age. He didn’t know how to take care of me so he just didn’t. Mother says he was… awkward with me. He’s a cold man to everyone, but you’d expect it to be different with his children. Also, he never wanted a son. He wanted a little girl to spoil and brag about. So when Lan Zhan was born, he perked up about it and decided to actually act like a father… but not to me. I guess Lan Zhan was close enough to a girl for him. He took Lan Zhan on trips and bought him things and never acknowledged me except when he had to. He did love our mother a lot, but she resented him and I’m sure you can tell why.”

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “And it’s not completely his fault, not the awkwardness at least. He… he’s different. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Lan Zhan is not good at socializing. He also has these weird things like his food has to be organized a certain way, he can’t wear something that isn’t soft and silky for more than an hour, and Heavens forbid you step on his floor with shoes on. And when he was a kid he would go days without saying a word, no matter how much you tried to get him to talk. He’s gotten better about it, I haven’t seen him have a breakdown in a few years, but -- regardless, he got that from his father. They get along very well because they both have those weird quirks. Me and Mother would try to make him eat or wear something he didn’t like and he’d go crying to Daddy. He would always say that Lan Qingheng was the only one that understood him. So that’s why Mother let him stay, but they argued all the time. Eventually Lan Zhan told him that he had to leave because he wasn’t nice to us. So he agreed and left. Lan Zhan was about ten years old then. But he comes back at least once per year, he still likes to take Lan Zhan on a trip or give him gifts.”

Wei Wuxian listened dutifully and then took a deep breath, shaking his head. “It’s no excuse. Being young and immature, that is. A child is a big responsibility, especially _two._ He should’ve stepped up and… well, it’s just inexcusable to do what he did to you. I understand why you don’t refer to him as your father,” he said. “But Lan Zhan stays in contact with him? I would ask if they still get along, despite everything, but I guess you’re not too involved in all that?”

It felt good for Lan Xichen to get all of his off his chest and get some validation. He didn’t get to talk about if very often. “I would say they have a good relationship, based on Lan Zhan’s reactions, but he doesn’t talk about him much to me. Probably because he feels bad. And I think Lan Qingheng has gotten better. He’s made a surprising effort in the past five years or so to fix his relationship with me -- or _start_ one, I guess. But I haven’t really given him the chance. He apologized to me and tried to give me a very expensive gift but I gave it back to him. If anything, Uncle has been more of a father to me and I told him as much.”

He sighed. “But anyway. I imagine Lan Zhan feels very conflicted. Even though Lan Qingheng has loved and taken care of him his whole life and he’s never raised his voice at him, he did raise his voice at our mother. It wasn’t always unfounded, she usually started the arguments and wouldn’t accept his silence as an answer, but I can tell that it did something to Lan Zhan, judging by how he reacts when an alpha gets angry and starts yelling. Lan Zhan… has learned not to trust alphas.”

This all made a surprising amount of sense as to why Lan Zhan was the way that he was. Wei Wuxian figured that he understood him a little better now, just from hearing this. But there was no doubt that he was going to eventually run in to Lan Zhan’s father, if he came around. What would he do? What would he _say_? Well, he would want to protect Lan Zhan at all costs.

“I see. This… makes a lot of sense actually,” he said. “Thank you for telling me. I won’t say anything to Lan Zhan that you told me anything. This uh… This conversation never happened, right?”

Lan Xichen nodded and smiled. “Exactly,” he said. “Thank you for coming to see me. I’m glad that Lan Zhan picked you... to hang out with. Come back if you have anything else you want to talk about, okay?”

“Well, while I’m here… do you… think Lan Zhan would ever be open to courtship?” Wei Wuxian asked, shuffling a little on the seat. “While I really like all the uh… hanging out we’ve been doing, I just… I did suggest bringing our… _friendship_ up to his family and he snapped at me.”

That made Lan Xichen pause. He curled his fingers against his chin and hummed in thought. After a moment he said, “I don’t know about his personal feelings, but from what I know about our family, courting is probably a big deal for him. He’s always said that he’s never going to marry or have kids, but I think that’s just because of how he grew up. He never really saw an example of a healthy marriage. You know, Lan Qingheng was head over heels for our mother but that didn’t make him a good husband. I imagine that would add to his trust issues.” He hummed again. “Now that I think about it… Lan Zhan probably trusts you a great deal. If he’s… well, let’s just say that he’s very afraid of being vulnerable.”

Wei Wuxian thought about how Lan Zhan had been naked on his desk, shaking, but letting him do as he wanted until he finally relaxed, all in an alpha dorm. Of course, it wasn’t like he could tell Lan Xichen this, but it did put Lan Zhan’s trust in him into perspective. But just because Lan Zhan trusted him like that, did not necessarily mean he would ever hold _feelings_ for him. “I’m sure it’s as much of a mystery to me as it is you,” he said.

Lan Xichen nodded. “It’s an uphill battle I’m sure,” he said. “I do appreciate your concern for him. As far as I know, you’re the first person other than Su Ming and our family who’s really cared about him.”

Wei Wuxian shook his head with a smile. “I don’t know how that’s possible. Lan Zhan is… incredible, in so many ways. Have you seen the progress he’s been making with his life magic? It’s amazing.”

Lan Xichen smiled and nodded. “He wouldn’t shut up about it at dinner the other night,” he said. “We’ve never heard him talk so much in one sitting! It is amazing, though. He’s such a smart kid.”

It made Wei Wuxian’s chest and stomach feel warm inside just thinking about it, about him. “I know he can be a little cold but… if people took the time to spend more than five minutes with him, I’m sure they’d see what a great person he is, outside of his obvious beauty,” he said.

Lan Xichen raised his eyebrows. “You need to see him interact with other people then — you’re pretty special, and so is Su Ming. He doesn’t give most people the time of day.”

“Oh believe me, it took me punching a guy in the jaw to get him to talk to me in the first place,” Wei Wuxian said with a small laugh. “But I don’t blame him for not trusting other people. Most alphas are assholes.”

“Unfortunately,” Lan Xichen said. “It makes me even more surprised that he’s opening up to an alpha at all; he never comes to me about things, I have to pry information out of him. He’s quiet as a mouse around Uncle.”

“I am honoured, truly. I suppose we’ll just have to see where things go,” Wei Wuxian said. He stood up and dusted himself off before he picked up the box of vials. “Thank you for these. It fills me with relief to know that Lan Zhan has such a caring older brother.”

Lan Xichen hummed and stood up as well to lead him to the door. “Growing up the way we did, I’ve always looked out for him. I just hope that he can be happy one day.”

“I will do my best,” Wei Wuxian said with a nod of his head. “See you around, Lan Xichen.”

With that, Wei Wuxian walked out of the door and back down to his room. He set down the box of vials and slid it under his desk. If the need came for them, he knew where they were.

Lan Xichen heaved a sigh of relief and went back to his desk. That conversation went so much better than he had expected, and it lifted a lot of weight from his shoulders. Not just about Lan Zhan either. He pondered over whether Lan Zhan would end up accepting Wei Wuxian’s courtship, and whether Lan Qingheng would be an obstacle at all. He would hope not... if so, Lan Xichen would have to finally accept his invitations to go down there just so he could talk some sense into him. He liked Wei Wuxian. He seemed like a good man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus the vibrator was forgotten... but it will eventually return!


	14. Overstimulated

Lan Xichen had given Wei Wuxian a lot to think about. He found himself more excited than usual to see Lan Zhan after classes the next day, just to see if things seemed to add up against the real thing. As he promised, he climbed up to Lan Zhan’s window through the back once his classes were over and everyone had gone back to the dorms. He felt a little odd going without something to give him, without any intentions other than having sex with him. Despite knowing that was what Lan Zhan wanted, it felt… sinful in some way.

Once Wei Wuxian climbed in through the window, he immediately took off his boots and set them down on the rack before he approached Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan’s room was so large that he didn’t notice the noise, and his squishy floor made footsteps inaudible too. He was sitting next to his plants and writing, and he was so deep in thought that when he caught Wei Wuxian’s scent it only registered in his subconscious as _alpha._ He dropped his pencil and jumped a little as he tensed up, his heart skipping a beat. But a second later he realized it was Wei Wuxian’s scent and he relaxed again. He turned around on the floor, hoping Wei Wuxian didn’t notice his start.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello! I took my boots off already, see?” Wei Wuxian said, pointing to his feet. He sat down beside Lan Zhan and wrapped his arms around him with a soft croon, nuzzling against him and then peppering kisses over his cheek. “I missed you. What have you been doing today while I’ve been in class?”

Lan Zhan wanted to melt. He wanted to crawl into Wei Wuxian’s lap and hold onto him and fall asleep there. Instead he just sat there and accepted the affection, though he couldn’t stop the quiet purr in his throat. He waited for it to pass before he spoke.

“I can make the colors change without help now,” he said. “It’s slow but it works. Not just more intense colors but different ones.”

“Oh! Well done!” Wei Wuxian chirped. He loved hearing about Lan Zhan’s progress with his life magic. “All it took was a little hard work, I guess. Ahhh, you’re so amazing! Who knows what you’ll be able to do next?”

“Mn. I think I have found a way to make my own money,” Lan Zhan continued. His eyes were bright and engaged; this really was the most exciting thing he’d done in a long time.

Wei Wuxian grinned at him, eyes fond, and then pressed a long, sloppy kiss on his cheek. “This is good! Good progress. If you need anything too, don’t be afraid to ask me.”

Lan Zhan paused. There _was_ something... Wei Wuxian might actually be very useful for him. “I want to go to the Capitol,” he said, “I want to go to a store they have there. But Gege can’t take me and I don’t want to wait until the break...”

Wei Wuxian blinked quickly. Lan Zhan was… inviting him somewhere. Together. It wasn’t like they had just randomly seen each other. He wasn’t sure he’d get the chance again after what happened while Lan Zhan was drunk.

“Of course. When do you want to go?” he asked.

Lan Zhan felt a little excited. He had never been on a trip without someone in his family... he could drink as many single drops of alcohol as he wanted. But it couldn’t be soon...

“In a few weeks,” he said. “My heat is in a week. After... that.”

He trailed off, realizing what he was saying. His heat was soon. He hadn’t really thought much about it, but now... He looked at Wei Wuxian, his eyes hopeful. He rubbed his lips together.

“Do you want...?” he began. How was he supposed to ask this?

Wei Wuxian knew what Lan Zhan was asking but he was still surprised to hear it, his eyes wide. He didn’t think he’d really ask him. He slowly peeled himself back from Lan Zhan and then took his hands in his.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked.

Lan Zhan looked down at his hands. He wanted to pull them away and tuck them in his arms. But he didn’t want Wei Wuxian to get offended, not when he was asking such an important question. He nodded. He didn’t know how to say what he wanted to say, but he knew he had to get the words out. He felt awkward and stumbled over his words, his gaze moving away to look at his notebooks and plants.

“I want... it would be nice to have... to be c-... cared for. It’s hard... being alone.”

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly, eagerly. It would be a dream to take care of Lan Zhan the way he wanted to. He squeezed his hands lightly. He’d never been around an omega in heat before, he didn’t know what to expect, but he would do whatever he could for Lan Zhan.

“Okay. Yeah. I can do that. I’ll take the time off my classes and… and bring you food and water and we can have as much sex as you want,” he said. “I have some vials in my room, um, just in case this situation arose. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to spend your heat with me any time but I took some precautions, just in case. They’re for you, to drink, so you… don’t get pregnant. When we have sex in your heat. I’ll bring those with me. Oh! I’ll bring some of my clothes too? For… For your nest. If you want them.”

Lan Zhan felt a little overwhelmed but also relieved at Wei Wuxian’s response. Apparently he’d been thinking ahead already and got the contraceptives without him even asking. That made Lan Zhan feel warm; he sometimes worried that Wei Wuxian was changing his mind about him. He couldn’t blame him for it if he did.

He hesitated. He’d never used clothes in his nest before. He was extremely picky about his nest, everything had to be soft and there couldn’t be a single itchy or rough thing in there. But admittedly… having Wei Wuxian’s scent sounded really nice. He always slept so well surrounded in it. When he was in heat he always needed more security than what he had, and maybe that would do the trick. He stood up and walked over to a stack of boxes he had against the wall and opened one of them. He pulled out a stack of folded sheets of silk. They were only used during his heat and he took good care of them. They smelled a little bit like his heat, but he always washed them carefully so it wasn’t too much. They were extremely soft and cool to the touch, which was exactly what he needed during his heat. He took them back to Wei Wuxian. “I can’t have anything that isn’t soft in my nest,” he said. “If you want… you can take these and bring them back.”

Wei Wuxian took the box from him and peered inside. He picked up one of the sheets and felt the soft fabric under his fingers, then gave it a sniff. The scent was overwhelming, despite being subtle. _A heat scent._ This was really happening.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll take these and I’ll scent them,” he said.

Lan Zhan sat back down and thought about what else Wei Wuxian would need to know. “Gege usually brings me food in the evenings and leaves it outside the door so don’t be loud. I will be… I might be aggressive. Or… emotional. Don’t take it personally.” He looked away and fiddled with his clothes, and his voice got quiet when he said, “Just because I’m growling doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

Wei Wuxian set down the box by his feet and then reached out to cup Lan Zhan’s cheek. He tilted his head towards him and met his eyes. “It’s okay. I don’t really know what to expect, I’ve never been around an omega in heat but… I’ll be here, okay?” he said. He leaned in so their foreheads touched and smiled at him.

Lan Zhan felt helpless and it scared him. The intimate gesture was suddenly too much at that moment and he didn’t know why. He tried for a few seconds to contain it, but eventually he gasped and shifted away, his body tense and shaking slightly. He gripped his robes and couldn’t think, couldn’t _breathe._ It was like his lungs didn’t want to let go of the air, and he could only suck more in. He barely registered his distressed scent or anything else around him right then.

Wei Wuxian noticed the distressed scent almost immediately. He looked him over as he shifted away from him. “Hey… Lan Zhan? Are you okay?” he said.

Lan Zhan didn’t process those words at all. He rocked back and forth and grabbed at his robes. Thoughts raced through his mind and most of them he only barely caught. He couldn’t keep up without breathing so eventually he had to let out some of the air, though he sucked it right back in.

That was when he understood that he was having a panic attack. These didn’t happen often, not anymore. What used to help him? He needed something, what was it? Something physical, something to hold… he opened and closed his hands repeatedly, trying to _think._ He tried to breathe in again but he couldn’t.

“Lan Zhan… hey…” Wei Wuxian said, reaching out slightly towards Lan Zhan but then hesitating. Was it okay to touch him? He wasn’t sure. However, he _did_ keep making a grabbing motion with his hands. So, Wei Wuxian took the plunge and pulled Lan Zhan into his arms, squeezing him tight.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Lan Zhan struggled, not wanting to be held back. He _needed_ it, he needed that something and he needed to look for it _now._ The arms around him were strong and seemed to hold on tighter the more he struggled. After a few seconds of this, though, his body gave up on him. He was trapped -- no… he was secure. The pressure grounded him and brought him back into himself, though his mind wasn’t yet ready to calm down. He was suddenly overwhelmed with an emotion that he didn’t have the means to identify. He sobbed quietly, leaning into the tight hold.

Wei Wuxian crooned at him in hopes that it might help relax him. He rubbed his back as he sobbed into his arms. The only time that he’d seen Lan Zhan cry was when he was drunk and this was different. Lan Zhan would remember this.

The croon did something to Lan Zhan. It was hypnotic, almost. His sobs faded out pretty quickly as though a switch had been flipped. He suddenly remembered what he had needed a second ago: it was his ball. It had originally been a cat toy, just a hollow ball with a small rock in it, but he’d loved it as a baby. He would carry it around as a child and shake it when he needed a distraction. He didn’t even know where it was now, but it seemed as though the crooning was a decent substitute.

He rested his cheek against Wei Wuxian’s sternum and felt the vibrations. His mind was blank, nothing more than static occasionally broken with parts of thoughts. He had never noticed that croons came with a faint scent. He supposed he had always known in the back of his mind; he crooned at his stuffed animals sometimes but he had never given much thought to the scent.

Wei Wuxian was glad that it seemed to be working. He kept rubbing his back and crooning as he settled a little. There had to be something else he could do. He thought back to the time he had seen Lan Zhan with the baby bunnies at the farm. It had been one of the first times he’d really realised how much he cared about Lan Zhan. His conjuration wasn’t good enough to make a convincing live baby bunny, but there was a substitute he could think of. Behind Lan Zhan’s back, he focused his magic to conjure a plushie version of the little white baby bunny that Lan Zhan had been so fond of back then. It had a blue ribbon around its neck and a small bell that jingled when it settled in his hands.

“Hey, Lan Zhan,” he whispered. “Look what I’ve got.” He showed the bunny plushie to Lan Zhan and watched his expression.

The croon had softened and Lan Zhan felt like he was about to lose his footing. The presence of _words_ was like an intrusion on his mind, but before he could react, he saw the little bunny.

He forgot about everything else and took the plushie in his hands. It had fur, unlike his own stuffed animals which were made of cloth. As he turned it around he heard the bell and then wiggled his finger under it to make it jingle more.

He stared at it blankly for a moment, his cheeks itching from the lines of tears that had dried, then he pulled it to his chest. His fingers continued to rub the fur. It didn’t feel _real_ but it was still soft. It was an easy thing for his overwhelmed mind to handle.

“Take your time, okay?” Wei Wuxian said softly. He rubbed his arms with his palms and kept his eyes on him. Truthfully, he had no idea what had just happened but he wanted to be there for Lan Zhan until he calmed down.

It was a few minutes before Lan Zhan came back to himself. He realized he was curled up in Wei Wuxian’s lap, though he wasn’t as uncomfortable as he expected. He sat up and carefully crawled out of his lap to sit on the floor. He didn’t make eye contact as he cleared his throat and said, “That didn’t happen.”

Wei Wuxian wanted to ask why he had freaked out all of a sudden. Did it have something to do with the conversation they’d had about his heat? If so, what was it? He didn’t want to repeat it. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to risk having Lan Zhan push him away anymore.

“Do you want to give the bunny a name?” he asked casually, as if nothing unusual had happened.

Lan Zhan looked down at the bunny and ruffled its fur again, then pulled its ears through his fingers. What would he name a white rabbit if he could get one? He could name it ‘baby.’ He could give it a more beautiful name like Winter, or something cute… “Qiqi,” he said eventually, his voice quiet.

“Qiqi is cute… I wish you could keep it, but it’s all magic,” Wei Wuxian said as he too brushed his fingers over the soft fur of the bunny plushie. “But I can buy you a real one someday, if you’d let me.”

Lan Zhan looked up at Wei Wuxian, feeling conflicted. He wanted to accept, but the idea of it made him feel guilty. He didn’t need Wei Wuxian to buy him anything. He looked back down at Qiqi.

“I can buy one myself,” he said. He could also ask his father. But that also made him feel guilty. And other things that he didn’t want to sort out.

“I know. You’ll be earning all that money with your magic and believe me, I’m really impressed. I just… want to do nice things for you,” Wei Wuxian said. “How about this, if you buy the first bunny yourself, I’ll gift you a second one if you want it? For your birthday or something.”

That was an interesting offer. Lan Zhan wanted to buy Snowball first. He was a large rabbit and he didn’t know how much longer he would be alive at the farm. He also wanted a baby, though. But still…

“I don’t need you to get me anything,” he said.

“I know you don’t _need_ me to get you anything. But it’s okay to want things, you know? You won’t owe me anything. Besides, you’re not _really_ going to say no to a birthday present you absolutely want, are you?” Wei Wuxian replied.

“I don’t want you to,” Lan Zhan said. He couldn’t really pinpoint _why_ but the idea of Wei Wuxian buying him a pet unsettled him. He said Lan Zhan wouldn’t owe him but that didn’t mean anything. And he still felt a little humiliated at the fact that he just _cried_ in front of him.

Wei Wuxian huffed but didn’t press the issue anymore. He was content to just watch Lan Zhan with Qiqi, wondering how much longer he would be able to keep up the magic.

Lan Zhan put it out of his mind. He went back to thinking about his heat. Wei Wuxian seemed so insistent on doing things for him, he supposed he could take advantage of that for once. “I need you to make sure I eat,” he said. “And bathe. Even if I say no.”

He _hated_ bathing during his heats. Usually he loved to sit in the warm water and play with his sponge but when he was in heat, anything that was hot made him miserable. He knew why the water was always heated when it came up through the pipes but it was so inconvenient when he wanted cold water. And even if the water was cold, he could barely get the energy to get to his bath, let alone wash himself and dry off. But at the same time, he also hated being gross and unwashed.

“You should fill the bath early and let it cool down,” he added.

“Okay. I can do that,” Wei Wuxian said with a nod. It would be easy to manhandle Lan Zhan, he could easily pick him up and put him in the tub if he refused to get in.

Lan Zhan continued to pet Qiqi, unsure of how to continue. He kind of wanted to push Wei Wuxian down on the floor and do things to him, but he still felt awkward after his panic attack. It had been a mild one compared to some of the ones he could remember. It had only lasted maybe five or ten minutes (he couldn’t remember the passage of time very well but it couldn’t have been longer than that...) and he felt pretty okay now. Before he would often zone out for hours. Maybe Qiqi was what snapped him out of it. The little bell...

The longer the two of them sat in silence, the more frustrated Wei Wuxian became. He liked Lan Zhan a lot and there was no fighting his innate instinct to look after him and protect him. However, what had just happened still weighed on his mind.

“Was it my fault…? Earlier, I mean. I know you don’t want to talk about it but it’s really just a yes or no question a-and I need to know, it’s going to bother me for months if you don’t tell me. We can go on like it never happened if you just… tell me if I triggered it. I don’t want to hurt you or do anything to upset you,” he said.

Lan Zhan listened quietly. It was actually a difficult question to answer. Was it Wei Wuxian? He hadn’t really done anything that was new. He was silent for a minute before he finally said, “I don’t know. I am unsure of what I felt or why. I just know that I couldn’t handle it.” He turned his head to glance at Wei Wuxian. “It was not as long as they used to be. It helps… to have something to focus on. Thank you.”

Lan Zhan seemed genuine. Wei Wuxian didn’t know what to make of what he’d said. It seemed as if neither of them knew what had caused Lan Zhan’s little episode, but he was glad that he had come out of it okay. “Is there… anything you’d like me to do?” he asked.

Lan Zhan chewed on his bottom lip. He wanted to ask Wei Wuxian to stay the night and cuddle with him, but those words wouldn’t come out if he tried. And he didn’t know if he wanted that for sure. If Wei Wuxian did it without asking then he would be fine.

Well, there was something else that was easier to ask for. “You can give me an orgasm or multiple,” he said. “If you want.”

“Only if you take me to your bed so we can cuddle and make out for a little while first,” Wei Wuxian said. He was worried that Lan Zhan was still on the edge, was still calming down from his episode. Sex was definitely not the answer to fixing that.

Lan Zhan considered that. Just cuddling seemed uncomfortable at the moment, if he wasn’t sleeping or doing something else, but if he could keep his mouth occupied… He stood up and silently went to his vanity and took off his forehead ribbon and took down his hair. He brushed it and then went behind the privacy screen to strip down to his underwear. He got one of his silk robes and put that on, then returned to Wei Wuxian. He didn’t plan on leaving his room for the rest of the evening, so he didn’t need his clothes. He grabbed Wei Wuxian’s hand and pulled him up, then led him over to his nest. He glanced at him before climbing inside, pulling him along.

Wei Wuxian eagerly drank in the sight of Lan Zhan in the silk robe when he re-emerged but when he grabbed his hand and started to pull him, the last place he expected to be taken was his nest. Even so, he followed him inside.

“Ah, Lan Zhan… Your nest…” he managed to stammer before he caught a whiff of the intoxicating scent of the nest.

Lan Zhan plopped down. There was a thin mattress similar to the padded mat on his floor covering the wooden platform, and a quilt lay on top of it to add more cushion. There were stuffed animals in the corners and a single sheet that he used if he decided to sleep there. He knew a lot of omegas slept in their nests (and usually beds and nests were the same thing) but he was more particular about his. He lay down using one of his stuffed animals as a pillow and looked at Wei Wuxian expectantly. This was the second time the alpha had been in his nest. He remembered the first time when he’d just crawled in without asking, and how that had interested him so much.

When Lan Zhan looked at him like that, Wei Wuxian was quick to sit down beside him. He shucked off his jacket and put it to one side and then lay down properly next to Lan Zhan. Like this, he was beyond beautiful. Not that he wasn’t always, but he looked so naturally relaxed in his silk robe, curled up in his nest… Wei Wuxian let out a soft hum before he wrapped his arm around Lan Zhan’s stomach and nuzzled up to him.

Lan Zhan just lay there for a minute or so. He was so comfortable in his nest with the cloth covering it and leaving them in almost darkness, the cool silk soft against his skin. Maybe he was still kind of zoned out from earlier, that would explain his sudden sleepiness. He reached for a large stuffed animal and pulled it over and tucked it between himself and Wei Wuxian at their midsection. It made it seem cozier and more comfortable than before. Eyes closing, he turned his head toward Wei Wuxian, only half expecting a kiss or something.

Wei Wuxian found himself very comfortable as well. It was so cosy in Lan Zhan’s nest, it almost made him feel a little sleepy as well. When Lan Zhan turned his head towards him, he smiled, and then leaned in to press a very small, gentle kiss on his lips.

Lan Zhan had planned on crawling on top of him and taking this somewhere, but maybe he could nap first... just a little... it was probably too late in the evening for a nap but who cares? He found his thoughts drifting to nonsense as he gradually started to doze off.

Wei Wuxian watched as Lan Zhan fell asleep in his arms. There was no way he could disturb him now, not when he looked so peaceful like this. Warmth spread through his chest. He could only wish that they could have more moments like this, just cuddling each other, comfy and warm. Soon enough, his own eyelids grew heavy as he watched Lan Zhan sleep against him. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Lan Zhan is autistic because I have to put my projections somewhere, don't I? For those who are curious, I'm sure it says this at some point but the reason he had that panic attack was 1) it's getting close to his heat and he is much much more sensitive, and 2) sudden hyperawareness of the physical and emotional intimacy made him panic.


	15. Pre-heat

Lan Zhan actually didn’t want to get up in the morning when the bell rang. He didn’t know how he had slept for so many hours, but he felt kind of crappy. It was too hot in the nest and he had been sweating and he felt gross, so he pulled himself away from Wei Wuxian and rolled over to a cooler part of the nest. He was thirsty but he wasn’t about to get up. The cool water he always brought back from the main building was by his bed all the way on the other side of the room. He would sleep for just a little while longer.

Subconsciously, Wei Wuxian let out a small whine when he felt Lan Zhan roll out of his grasp. His eyes slowly fluttered open and in his tired haze, he rolled over to seek out his bedmate again and wrap his arm around him, pressing himself against his back. “Lan Zhaaaaan,” he mumbled. “Don’t leave meeeee.”

Lan Zhan groaned and moved away again. He wasn’t used to sleeping right next to someone else; so far it had been next to or directly under an open window with a cool breeze, and the way his nest was built, the cloth covering trapped all of their heat inside and kept the breeze out. He reached up and pulled the rope that raised the cloth up and opened the nest up to the cool morning air. He shucked off his robe and tossed it aside and lay face down in his stuffed animals. The dampness of his back now felt nice with the cool air. He would have to bathe and clean the quilt when he got up... the thought made him want to groan again.

Later, Wei Wuxian would blame it on his sleepiness. His eyes fluttered open, though lidded, and he crawled back over to Lan Zhan when he flopped back down in his nest. He leaned over him to press a soft kiss between his bare shoulder blades, then brushed his hair to one side so he could kiss the claim mark he had made prior.

Lan Zhan could only whine quietly in complaint. At least he wasn’t burning up now. “Let me sleep,” he mumbled. Whether his words were comprehensible was unknown to him.

“I jus’ wanna cuddle,” Wei Wuxian whined in response. He leaned his head on Lan Zhan’s shoulder as he ran his hand up and down his naked back.

“Too hot,” Lan Zhan complained. He wanted Wei Wuxian to leave or at least mind his own business. It was hard to sleep with his hand on his back like that...

“Can’t sleep without my Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian pathetically argued back in a sleepy voice. He attempted to nuzzle up to him again.

Lan Zhan wanted to whine again but he didn’t. It wasn’t working. “Bring me my water and I’ll go back,” he negotiated, his voice still muffled by the stuffed animals. “It’s by the bed.”

Wei Wuxian let out a small huff but obliged. He slowly pushed himself up, groaning at his achy limbs, before padding over to the bed to retrieve the water. As soon as he got it, he came back and set it down beside Lan Zhan, and then flopped next to him.

Lan Zhan sat up slowly and drank the whole thing, then he set the jug down somewhere else in the nest. He was glad that Wei Wuxian was wearing clothes at least, it wouldn’t be _as_ heated that way. He went back to him and lay down on top of him, his limbs splayed out. He didn’t know if it was a weekday or not; Wei Wuxian would have to leave at some point if so.

Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan happily and closed his eyes. He was a welcome weight on top of him, even if it was a little arousing to have him near-naked like this.

Lan Zhan noticed the faint change in scent, but he didn’t pay it any mind. He was still tired. He reached for a stuffed animal and tucked it under his arm and let himself drift again.

For a little while, Wei Wuxian was content to watch him sleep against him, but it didn’t take long for him to doze off again. All worries and responsibilities were far from his mind.

Lan Zhan slept on and off for a while after that. He was woken up a few times by bells but he always went right back to sleep. By the time he _really_ woke up, the room was bright and he heard the dull noise of students socializing in the grounds outside. How long had he slept? He rolled off of Wei Wuxian and stretched on his back and yawned.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Wei Wuxian said softly as Lan Zhan rolled off him. He’d been awake for a little while but he didn’t want to wake Lan Zhan up.

Lan Zhan looked and felt like an absolute wreck. He sat up and looked at Wei Wuxian blankly, then crawled away to get out of the nest. He went to the bathroom and then grabbed a plate of oranges on his way to the bath area. After turning on the water in the bath tub he took off his underwear and sat down in the tub, idly watching the water rise over his legs.

Wei Wuxian got up shortly after and stretched. He followed Lan Zhan to the bathtub and paused. Would he mind if he got in as well? There was only one way to find out. He peeled his clothes from his body and climbed into the tub.

“You don’t mind, do you?” he asked.

Lan Zhan shook his head and shifted a little to give him room. It was a pretty large tub compared to the ones in the dorm rooms, but it was still just large enough for two people. Lan Zhan was somewhat small, so it didn’t feel cramped. “What time is it?” he asked. During the day the bell rang each hour to tell the time but he had probably missed a few, judging by how bright it was outside.

Wei Wuxian looked towards the window. “Late morning, I’d say. I think some of the students are heading over to get lunch.”

Lunch? Lan Zhan frowned. “I don’t remember falling asleep,” he said. He rubbed his eyes. Maybe he felt awful because he slept so long.

“You fell asleep in my arms last night. It was pretty early but I was comfy and sleepy too…” Wei Wuxian said, scratching his cheek before grabbing a washcloth to start cleaning himself. “Sorry we didn’t have sex last night. You were just so tired and relaxed.”

Lan Zhan hummed. “We will have time during my heat,” he said. He turned off the water and got a washcloth as well, focusing on it as he rubbed the soap over it.

“I feel bad,” he complained quietly. He usually didn’t complain about stuff like that. He complained sometimes, but it wasn’t about being hurt or sick. Maybe it had something to do with Wei Wuxian. Or how he had just woken up.

“Do you want a massage?” Wei Wuxian offered, tilting his head to one side. He wanted to help Lan Zhan in any way that he could.

A massage sounded nice... Lan Zhan started slowly scrubbing himself down. “No,” he said. He already felt weird about them not having sex. It felt a little too personal.

“Are you sure? I have really good fingers, you should know that better than anyone!” Wei Wuxian said teasingly with a grin.

Lan Zhan shook his head. “No,” he said again. “What day is it? Is it a weekend?”

“Saturday,” Wei Wuxian confirmed. He continued to clean up until he was done. He took a deep breath and looked over at Lan Zhan, then took the initiative to grab his leg and lift it, taking his washcloth to scrub at him as well.

Lan Zhan grumbled but he let Wei Wuxian wash him. It required less effort on his part. He was glad that it wasn’t a weekday and he hadn’t made him miss classes. It had been a weird day the day before, and today he had slept until lunchtime. He had never really believed his mother when she said that the week before a heat was always crappy. It wasn’t always that way for him, and sometimes he just felt crappy for no reason. But it was times like this that he thought the idea had some merit. He was ready for his pre-heat already, he wanted that burst of energy he always got.

Wei Wuxian loved doing things like this for Lan Zhan. He was content to keep washing him. “Turn around for me so I can wash your back,” he said.

Lan Zhan turned around onto his knees and folded his arms on the edge of the tub, resting his cheek there. Why was he still tired? He wasn’t sleepy really, just lethargic. He would probably spend the day reading or napping in his nest.

Wei Wuxian was happy to see he complied. He started to wash Lan Zhan’s back with the washcloth and then rinsed it off. Quietly, he set down the washcloth and dug his thumbs into his shoulder blades to start massaging him.

Lan Zhan’s eyes fell shut. He had told him not to do it, but he didn’t have the energy to complain about it. He usually hated massages, even from his mother (who was the only one he would allow to touch him). While it felt _really_ good when he did it to himself, he always felt uncomfortable when it was done to him. But Wei Wuxian had touched him countless times, he was familiar with those hands in ways he wasn’t with anyone else’s. It didn’t feel uncomfortable with him, especially since he hadn’t asked for it.

Wei Wuxian started humming a soft melody as he kept massaging him, slowly moving down his back and working any knots in his skin that he found.

This wasn’t helping Lan Zhan feel more energetic. He started drooping down and wished he was still in his nest or in his bed. “You should go get your schoolwork for when you’ll miss class,” he said.

“You’re probably right,” Wei Wuxian said. He pressed a soft kiss to Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “Is that your subtle way of telling me you want some space now?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan mumbled. He eyed the oranges on the table. He had meant to eat them in the bath but Wei Wuxian had distracted him. He would eat them when he got out. “Make sure you remember the sheets,” he added.

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian said. He let go of Lan Zhan and climbed out of the bath. He dried off and redressed himself. Before he could go pick up the box of sheets, he rested his hands on the side of the tub and leaned towards Lan Zhan. “Can I get a kiss before I leave?”

Lan Zhan didn’t really think much of it. He sat up and tilted his head up, not willing to do much more than that.

Wei Wuxian closed the gap and kissed Lan Zhan softly. He ran a hand over his cheek and deepened his kiss for a moment before he pulled away and whispered: “I can come back tomorrow, unless you want more time?”

Lan Zhan thought about it. He could use some alone time. He felt crappy and didn’t want to interact with anyone, which included going to meals. He was sure his brother would be showing up at some point with some food. “Come back next Saturday,” he said. “It might not be time yet but it should be.”

“Alright. I’ll be back next Saturday. Come find me if you want or need anything, okay?” Wei Wuxian said. He stole another quick kiss before smiling and pulling away. He walked over to pick up the box of sheets and then crept out of the back window.

Lan Zhan got out of the tub as soon as Wei Wuxian moved away from him, and it wasn't a few seconds later before he realized something. He grabbed a robe and pulled it on quickly, ignoring his still-wet body, and ran over to the window, calling for Wei Wuxian to wait. He hung his head out, relieved to find that he hadn't actually gone down yet. "Bring those back on Thursday or Friday," he said. "I will need them."

Wei Wuxian blinked quickly and turned back to look at Lan Zhan and then down at the box of sheets. Lan Zhan, in his pre-heat, curled up with these sheets that he had scented… It was an arousing thought. He nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Will do.”

Lan Zhan nodded. He moved away from the window and went back to dry himself off properly. He would need to go stock up on snacks in the next few days. As good as fruits and vegetables were, he liked to have other things too. It would be weird having Wei Wuxian there this time... but he was pretty sure it would be a lot less miserable than usual.

Wei Wuxian headed back to his dorm with the sheets. He slept with them every night and all but drenched them in his scent. During this week, he also went around each of his teachers to let them know that he would be taking the week off and required work so he could catch up.

Once Friday morning came around, Wei Wuxian appeared only briefly to drop off the box of sheets through Lan Zhan’s window before scurrying back to head to his classes. He only had one more day to get through.

Lan Zhan’s pre-heat started sometime Wednesday night. He woke up at five and felt refreshed, compared to the earlier part of the week where he did nothing but lounge and mope. He got up and immediately pulled everything out of his nest until it was just a wooden platform. He put his stuffed animals in a pile and the mat in another, and his quilt and sheet in yet another. He washed the latter first since it was the easiest, then he pulled his mat over to the bath tub and unbuttoned and peeled the sheet off, then washed that too. He propped the mat up against the wall and pulled out another one that he had stored away. Once he got a new sheet on that, he fit it in his nest and gave it a new quilt on top.

He spent the next few days washing his clothes and straightening everything in his room. He was restless and bored, and he all but flew to the window when Wei Wuxian brought the sheets over. He gathered them up and trotted back to his nest and laid them out. They were deliciously scented. He took a moment to just smell them and he purred. He had all of his materials now.

He always kept his nest open during his heat so that the air could flow through. It was around the time where the building stopped being heated, thankfully. He left all of his windows open except for the one directly by his nest, since he didn’t want to risk his scent drifting out. He left most of his stuffed animals on his bed, but he set five of them outside of the nest while he took the sheets in. He first lay one down over the quilt and secured it at the corners so it wouldn’t shift. Then he spent the rest of the day organizing and reorganizing the sheets. Once he was comfortable enough with it, he brought in two pillows and his five chosen stuffed animals.

He got his stash of snacks and hung the bag in the corner of his nest for easy reach, then gathered the jugs of water he’d left out to cool and put two by the snack bag and left the others outside the nest. He braided his hair and twisted it into a bun. It would definitely fall out at some point, but for now it was good enough to keep his hair out of the way.

It was actually Friday evening when his heat started. He woke up in the middle of the night soaked and hard, and he struggled out of his underwear and threw it out of his nest. He groaned and complained even while he got himself off. He needed Wei Wuxian, he didn’t want to do anything himself! He was probably more miserable now than he ever had been during his heats, because now he knew what it felt like to be knotted.

As the hours went on and he went in and out of sleep, he grew more and more miserable and bitter. Where _was_ he?


	16. Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lan Zhan is 100x more of a brat than normal.

As soon as Saturday came around, Wei Wuxian’s heart pounded in his chest. He wondered how Lan Zhan was feeling, if his heat had already hit him. What would it be like? He got up, bathed, and dressed, then grabbed his bag. Inside, he packed a few changes of clothes and the contraceptive vials. Next, he headed down to the kitchen to pick up some breakfast for him and Lan Zhan, along with an assortment of fruits and other snacks just in case.

Now, it was time to head into Lan Zhan’s room. Wei Wuxian swallowed roughly. He was nervous and didn’t know what to expect. However, he took a deep breath anyway and left the gates so he could climb up to the window in Lan Zhan’s room. He clambered through and shucked off his boots.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. Oh _Gods_ , the smell. He was already prickled with arousal. So sweet… “Lan Zhan?” he called out as he padded towards Lan Zhan’s nest. “I brought you some breakfast.”

The sound of his voice roused Lan Zhan from a fitful sleep. He didn’t process it for a few seconds, but once he did he bristled. He was mad that it took him so long to get there. It had been _all night_ and he was in agony! He rolled over onto his stomach and glared. He wanted to tell him off but he couldn’t think of the right words. So he just growled instead.

Ah, the growling. Right. Lan Zhan had warned him of this. He sighed and padded into the nest.

 _Oh._ The smell was even stronger in here. It was almost overpowering. He squeezed his hands in and out of fists as the sweat gathered on his palms. Quickly, he set down his bag and then shucked off his jacket as well.

He sat down next to Lan Zhan and rubbed his back. “Hey, I’m here now,” he said.

Lan Zhan’s growling got more intense, almost snarl-like when he felt Wei Wuxian’s hand. It was so cold against his feverish skin. He was hit with multiple intense urges, the most strong ones being to kick the intruding alpha out of his nest and to present himself for fucking. He jerked away and wrapped himself in his sheets.

“You _left me,”_ he hissed.

“ _Left_ you? You asked me to come here on Saturday and it’s Saturday,” Wei Wuxian argued but he soon realised that logical reasoning was unlikely to work on an omega in heat. He pulled the sheet from Lan Zhan and tossed it to one side, then grabbed his wrists to flip him over onto his back and then pin them over his head so he could climb on top of him.

“Stop being a brat.”

Lan Zhan struggled and whined like an even bigger brat. After a few seconds of this, though, that first instinct to kick Wei Wuxian out faded into the background. He was still (almost) in his right mind. He knew that Wei Wuxian was right and he was being unreasonable. He knew what they had agreed on and he was aware of the things that he would or would not do normally — but his desires were more important to him than his shame at the moment. He was so restless and _empty_ and Wei Wuxian could fix it. So he arched his back and bared his neck while his legs lifted up and apart.

“Please,” he whimpered, his voice high-pitched and whiny.

Wei Wuxian’s cock twitched at the display. He was _begging_ him, spreading himself so prettily… He’d never seen Lan Zhan do anything like this before. Wei Wuxian stared down at him with dilated pupils, lips slightly apart. He just wanted to eat him up… He shook his head quickly. There was something he had to do first, before they got into any of this mess. He knew that once they started, he wouldn’t be able to stop.

“Stay there,” he said. He scrambled to grab his bag and pull out one of the vials and lifted it to Lan Zhan’s lips. “Drink and I’ll reward you.”

Lan Zhan complained when Wei Wuxian moved away and complained again when he tried to make him drink something. The offer was worth it, though. He opened his mouth and took whatever it was. He recognized it as a potion, then he realized in passing what it was. Oh yeah, he supposed he did need that. As soon as it was down, he arched his back again and writhed around with more wordless complaints on his lips.

Wei Wuxian was happy to do something about those lips. He set the empty vial to one side and captured Lan Zhan in a kiss, clambering back on top of him. His hands slid down his chest, through the sweat, as he kissed him, until he eventually reached his cock. He gave it a few strokes before they dipped down to glide through the slick.

It was torture. Lan Zhan bit Wei Wuxian’s lip and growled. “Hurry!” he demanded. _Gods_ he was so wet, it was all over his inner thighs and everything in between. It felt gross, but his whole body felt gross at the moment.

Well, who was he to say no to that? Wei Wuxian hurried to sit up and unlace his pants so he could pull his cock out. He’d been hard from the moment he got a whiff of Lan Zhan’s heat scent. He grabbed hold of Lan Zhan’s thigh, pushing it up towards his chest as his other hand took hold of the base of his shaft and lined himself up. He eased himself inside that wet heat with a moan until he sunk all the way inside.

It went in so easily. Lan Zhan sobbed with relief; he really had never had a heat this bad before. His fingers couldn’t do it for him anymore. He grabbed Wei Wuxian’s shirt and held on.

“Look at that, you see how well you take me?” Wei Wuxian breathed in his ear. He leaned in to kiss and nibble at his neck as he started to roll his hips, moving at a steady pace. “It’s like you were made for me to fuck you.”

Lan Zhan was quickly back to complaining again. “Not fast enough!” he whined. He couldn’t handle this slow nonsense. He needed to be _pounded_ right about then.

Wei Wuxian growled at him and his whining. He grabbed a handful of Lan Zhan’s hair and pulled his head back to expose his throat and he licked a long stripe up it, then started to thrust in harder and faster, ensuring that Lan Zhan would be sore the next day.

“This is what you want?” he breathed. “You want me to ruin your tight little pussy?”

That effectively silenced any of Lan Zhan’s complaints. He arched his back and moaned, his voice punctuated with each hit of Wei Wuxian’s hips against him. It didn’t take him more than ten seconds to cum just from that alone. _Heavens_ it felt so good, it was exactly what he needed.

Wei Wuxian recognised the way he convulsed around him but he didn’t let up, he fucked him through every wave of his orgasm and then kept going. “Did you cum already? You’re so desperate for me, just a little bit of cock and you’re losing your mind,” he taunted.

The insults didn’t hit the same way as they did before, mostly because Lan Zhan was only in half a mind to understand them. He was content to lay there and get what he deserved. A minute later though, he needed more than that.

“Knot,” he whined, writhing again.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that to get me to cum you pretty little thing,” Wei Wuxian cooed. He squeezed Lan Zhan’s thigh and groaned. Then, he looked down at him with a slightly mischievous expression. “Beg for me.”

Lan Zhan scowled at Wei Wuxian for keeping this from him. Who did he think he was? "Give it to me," he growled. "I need it!" he added in a whine.

Wei Wuxian leaned in to whisper in Lan Zhan’s ear as he whined and writhed under him with two simple words: “Make me.”

Lan Zhan wasn't about to beg now that Wei Wuxian demanded it. Even in heat his stubbornness persisted. He complained, but it sounded more like a moan because of the pounding he was still getting. "Fuck you!" he forced out.

“That’s no way to talk to the only man who’s going to give you his knot right now, is it sweetheart?” Wei Wuxian replied, yanking Lan Zhan’s head back again by his hair.

Lan Zhan grunted and swallowed hard. His braid was definitely pulled out of its bun now, but he didn't have the mind to care. Wei Wuxian would knot him eventually, he knew. He just wanted it to happen faster.

"Fuck you," he said again, though it was weaker this time. It felt like a strange phrase in his mouth. He'd said the word 'fuck' plenty of times, but not in such a directly aggressive way.

“What happened to the little omega I found in this nest, huh? The one who spread his legs and said _please_ ,” Wei Wuxian continued to tease him between breaths. “Oh Wei Wuxian, give me your knot. Oh please!”

Lan Zhan growled again. He didn't want to believe that he really sounded like that, but he knew he did. He chose to ignore it. He reached up and grabbed Wei Wuxian's hand and pulled it out of his hair.

Wei Wuxian was taken a little aback by Lan Zhan’s grab but he was quick to take the hand that had pulled his own out of his hair and pin it down next to his head. “Come on then sweet thing, growl at me some more,” he rasped. “Pretend like you’re not willing to do anything at all for my knot, stretching you to the brim, filling you with my cum.”

Lan Zhan was happy to keep growling. It was a weak one, wavering with each forceful thrust and broken by grunts and moans, but he kept at it. He was going to cum again, he could tell. This had gone on for too long and he wasn't going to be able to hold on for much longer.

“What’s the matter? Haven’t got any more ‘fuck you’s left in you?” Wei Wuxian said. He could feel himself growing close, his thrusts starting to stutter a little, but he made sure to make every one count by thrusting straight into Lan Zhan’s sweet spot.

Lan Zhan did his very best not to cum. He focused hard and forced himself to relax each time his body tensed up, but there was only so much he could do. He felt the intensity build up until it boiled over and he _squeaked_ , his body tense and shivering with the orgasm.

That noise was enough for Wei Wuxian. He gave a final few thrusts through Lan Zhan’s second orgasm and then came with a moan of his own, heat flooding inside Lan Zhan. His knot grew inside him, eagerly spreading open his walls.

It was the most blissful thing Lan Zhan had ever experienced. All of the frustration in his body melted away. It fit perfectly this time, filling him up tight but not stretching too much. He closed his eyes and moaned.

"Ohhh..."

Wei Wuxian hummed in contentment once his orgasm settled. He leaned his face against Lan Zhan’s neck, pressing his body weight against him, and then nuzzled.

The weight was heavy and almost knocked the breath out of him, but Lan Zhan wouldn't have it any other way. He liked the pressure, it reminded him of that tight squeeze Wei Wuxian had given him a week prior. He purred and went completely limp, his legs falling to the sides. He felt like for once he could actually _rest._

Wei Wuxian answered that purr with a croon. He liked being like this, cuddled up together. He wondered how long it would take before Lan Zhan got riled up again. At least now he had given him his knot, he would have some clarity. “You okay?” he asked.

"Mmmmm..." Lan Zhan hummed through his purr. He was more than okay. He had felt restless and achy all night and it had kept him from sleeping. But now he was peaceful. He wasn't going to last through another heat without this.

"Do you want anything? Food? Water? I can feed it to you. There's breakfast in my bag," Wei Wuxian suggested and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

Lan Zhan opened his eyes. Breakfast sounded nice. "Breakfast?" he asked, looking around.

Wei Wuxian pondered for a moment on how exactly he was going to get breakfast from his bag to Lan Zhan without moving. Then, an idea struck him. Wei Wuxian summoned his magic and let the tentacles that he had used so fondly to lift him to Lan Zhan's window every time, reach out and grab his bag. He dragged it over to him and then lifted himself up slightly so he could open it and retrieve the breakfast he had brought, smiling as he started pressing each bit of food to Lan Zhan's lips.

Lan Zhan's eyes were wide. He had watched those... things? slither across his nest and grab Wei Wuxian's bag. He must have conjured them with his magic. He suddenly wondered why he had never considered doing conjuration. He opened his mouth and let Wei Wuxian feed him, still deep in thought.

"Good?" Wei Wuxian asked. He grabbed his own breakfast out of the bag as well so he could alternate between munching on his own and feeding Lan Zhan.

"Mm." Lan Zhan considered asking Wei Wuxian to make those things again, but he decided against it. When Wei Wuxian stopped feeding him he twisted his top half to the side and grabbed his pillow. He pulled it over and gathered his stuffed animals, setting them each carefully so they could lay flat next to his chest and midsection. When they were properly placed he lay his arm over them and nuzzled into his pillow with a croon.

“Is there anything else you want?” Wei Wuxian asked softly, peppering Lan Zhan’s cheeks in kisses. He loved taking care of him.

Lan Zhan stopped crooning just to say “no” but started up again. He felt nice right then and was happy to nap with his stuffed animals.

Wei Wuxian was content to keep cuddling up to him until his knot died down. They continued this way for the rest of the day, a cycle of sex and then recovering with food and water. Wei Wuxian managed to pull Lan Zhan out of the nest when the sun started to set so they could get a bath. Of course, it didn’t take long for them to get dirty again. Lan Zhan had an appetite without being in heat, but this was on a whole new level. It didn’t take Wei Wuxian long to fall asleep with Lan Zhan in his arms once night fell.

It was always hard for Lan Zhan to sleep during his heat. He rarely got more than a few hours at a time. This time seemed a little easier, though he still woke up in the middle of the night for another round. Even though he never got enough sleep, he still _needed_ it, and he was always exhausted, so he usually fell asleep pretty quickly when his body simmered down enough to let him. His short bouts of sleep were filled with his typical heat dreams of pregnancy and caring for infants. They were rarely actual human babies, though. Most of the time they were bunnies or puppies, sometimes even stuffed animals, but he always felt like they were his babies. The only thing different this time was that Wei Wuxian was there too, and he either helped care for them or Lan Zhan had to protect them from him or the babies weren’t there at all and it was a sex dream.

And the latter was the kind of dream he was having at the moment. He was riding Wei Wuxian furiously, but it wasn’t enough, it didn’t feel good enough, he wasn’t _full_ enough. It upset him and he started crying, and Wei Wuxian fretted over him which just upset him more. He tried to push Wei Wuxian back down, but his limbs were heavy. He pushed harder and tried to yell at him _stop caring about me—_

He woke up with a start. He was splayed out on top of Wei Wuxian like he had been in his dream, and he noticed that he was already halfway onto his dick. Had he done that in his sleep? He didn’t give it another thought while he pushed himself down the rest of the way. It was like there was no friction at all with how wet he was, he just felt nice and filled up.

His lust and his exhaustion battled inside him. He wouldn’t be able to ride Wei Wuxian, his body was too weak and heavy right then. Even pushing himself back up once seemed like too much work. Maybe his exhaustion would win this time. His thoughts started morphing into nonsense again as he was dragged back into sleep.

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian had been having the most pleasant dream. It wasn’t unusual for him to dream about Lan Zhan, but they were rarely this sexual in nature. He figured it must have something to do with being around that heat scent. It was making his skin prickle, his chest rumble. He just wanted to grab him and—

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian gasped as his eyes fluttered open. His hands shot out to grasp the hips that were on top of him, still very sleepy.

"Hnnn..." Lan Zhan complained. He hated the sick feeling he got when he was in heat, the weakness and body aches and lethargy. It only happened when he was deep in a wave of it, and it seemed to go away once he was knotted. He wanted to sleep so bad, but he needed relief too.

How had he not noticed Lan Zhan doing this? Wei Wuxian groaned when Lan Zhan didn’t seem to move and took the initiative to pull him up by his hips so he could move on top of him.

“Lan Zhan…” he whispered again.

Lan Zhan groaned. He rolled his hips a little but he was unwilling to do more than that. "I feel bad," he mumbled against Wei Wuxian's chest.

What time was it anyway? It was dimly lit in the room, like either it was dusk or dawn or it was cloudy outside. His mind was too mixed up to figure it out.

“Do you need me to fuck you?” Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist and whispered in his ear.

"Mhmm," Lan Zhan whined. He huffed and rolled his hips again. He could sleep _after_ he got the knot. He always did.

Wei Wuxian made a small groan. He was rolling in his sleep delirium. Lan Zhan had really exhausted him and his hips ached. “If you want it, you’ll have to do it yourself,” he mumbled. “I’m tired, Lan Zhan.”

Tired? Lan Zhan's eyes popped open and he frowned. "You're not the one in heat," he scolded in a mumble. "Stop being a wimp."

“You’re right, I’m not,” Wei Wuxian said with a soft sigh. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, wiggling just a little to get comfortable so he could go back to sleep.

Lan Zhan waited for him to start moving but he never did. He waited some more, thinking he was just testing him, but after a minute he heard a little snore above his head. His eyebrow twitched. How _dare_ he? The audacity of it shocked Lan Zhan. There was no way he could go back to sleep now. He was hurting and tired and he _needed_ that knot.

"Wei Wuxian!" he growled, hitting his shoulder with the palm of his hand a few times.

Sleepily, Wei Wuxian batted Lan Zhan’s hand away from his shoulder and turned his head to one side. “Go sleep…” he slurred.

What was this about? Hadn't he just asked if Lan Zhan needed to be fucked? Why would he ask if he wasn't willing to do it? Desperation crept up Lan Zhan's spine. He pushed himself to his hands, his arms shaking a little, and lifted up his hips. He went up and down a few times, but it was so hard and he was lazy. He flopped back down on Wei Wuxian and tears pricked at his eyes. He couldn't do it, he couldn't _do_ it!

 _"Please,_ alpha," he cried weakly as the tears fell onto Wei Wuxian's chest. He couldn't stop himself from sobbing a few times. He knew he was acting like a whiny baby but he was just so emotional and he felt so helpless and he _needed_ it and Wei Wuxian was ignoring him and he couldn't handle it at _all._

Wei Wuxian’s cock twitched at that. Lan Zhan had said _please._ He wanted to hear it again, desperately so. His eyes slowly peeked open. “Mm… What did you say?” he said.

Lan Zhan sobbed and sucked in another breath. "Please," he whimpered between gasps and hiccups, "please, alpha _please."_

Wei Wuxian’s squeezed his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist and then pushed him down onto his back with a growl. He took hold of his thighs and pushed both up to his chest as he started to piston in and out of Lan Zhan’s wet heat.

Lan Zhan didn't stop crying even as relief washed over him. He was still overemotional and the intense pleasure just made him more reactive. He grabbed the nearest stuffed animal and hid his face behind it as he cried.

Wei Wuxian’s skin prickled even more with heat. He growled louder and buried his face against the crook of Lan Zhan’s neck, his scent leaking out. Something was happening. He had a renewed energy and he was taking it out on Lan Zhan now.

_Gods_ it was so much... the growl, the roughness, the _scent._ Lan Zhan didn't know what it was but he needed more of it. His sobs were indistinguishable from moans and more tears trailed down the sides of his face. He only had a couple of seconds' warning before an orgasm hit him out of nowhere. He tensed up and shouted into the hot skin of Wei Wuxian's neck. That scent was going to drive him crazy. If he thought his mind was jumbled before, he had no idea what this was.

“Fuck… _Fuck,_ Lan Zhan…” Wei Wuxian gasped. He fucked in harder and harder, carrying Lan Zhan through the waves of his orgasm. He wasn’t going to last like this. It only took a little more for Wei Wuxian to cum as well with a long moan, spilling hot into Lan Zhan and his knot expanding inside him.

Lan Zhan muffled his wail in Wei Wuxian's neck. He clung onto him with all four limbs until the knot stopped growing. It was weird this time; usually the knot allowed him to settle down and be normal again, but he was still strung tight. He turned his head and nibbled on Wei Wuxian's neck where that delicious scent was coming out.

That made Wei Wuxian groan. He tilted his head to one side and let Lan Zhan nibble as he pleased. It was only as he came down from his post-orgasmic high that he realised that these were the signs of a rut starting.

Lan Zhan bit down a little harshly and sucked hard on the spot, not even realizing that he was making a soft claim. "Smells good," he commented before he licked over the bite. It was a bit like how slick tasted sweet; when he put his mouth on it he could _taste_ the woodsy, musky scent.

“Claiming me, are you?” Wei Wuxian breathed softly, wincing a little at the hard bite. He hadn’t expected Lan Zhan to take that step but he couldn’t say he wasn’t grateful.

Lan Zhan made a noise and pressed his lips against the spot. He hadn’t meant to _claim_ him but he supposed that’s what happened. “I like this smell,” he said.

A few seconds later it clicked and he lay back down and looked at Wei Wuxian with wide eyes. “Are you in rut?” he asked.

“Not… Not all the way but I’m getting there, yeah,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He grumbled and kissed Lan Zhan’s neck back. “I should warn you. About me going into rut.”

Lan Zhan rubbed at his face where the tears had left itchy trails. “What?” he asked. He didn’t like it so far if it was going to be like this the whole time; he wasn’t going to get any sleep. He was still on edge, he wanted _more._

“I get… aggressive. I can only imagine that it’ll be especially bad because you’re in heat. If I get… unruly, I need you to pinch me, like… _really_ hard,” Wei Wuxian mumbled.

Aggressive..? Lan Zhan shifted a bit in interest. He wondered what sort of aggression he was talking about, and imagined different scenarios. Would he hold him down? Bite him? Cover his mouth? Hold his wrists? None of those bothered him, at least in theory. But if he really did need to get control, he needed to find out how before it started.

“What if my hands are trapped?” he asked. “Is there something shocking I could say?”

“Kicking me might also work. I just need you to snap me out of it. Or… I don’t know. You could try yelling something like… Hm… Maybe my brother’s name or something? Jiang Wanyin! That’ll get my attention,” Wei Wuxian suggested. “Or Wei Wuxian marry me!”

Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose. He couldn’t imagine saying something like _that._ But Jiang Wanyin might work. “Are you sure you’re okay with me yelling your brother’s name during sex?” he asked. He didn’t know much about ruts or how similar they were to heats. He had cried at least four times since his heat started. Were alphas in rut prone to jealousy?

“Well, it would certainly get my attention…” Wei Wuxian said. But the more he thought about it, the more sense Lan Zhan seemed to make. What if it only made him angry? “Maybe you’re right though, I don’t know if it’d make it worse… You’ll just have to think of something outrageous.”

Lan Zhan rolled his eyes. He couldn’t just come up with something outrageous. That wasn’t his style of thinking. Oh, well there was _something..._ it would require the element of surprise, though, and it might not work more than a few times. But he doubted he would _need_ to say it more than a few times. Unless Wei Wuxian was going to keep him from getting the knot like he wanted then he was happy as a peach. And if that word stopped working and he needed something else he could go with the other two.

“Okay,” he said.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Wei Wuxian asked, pulling back a little to look directly at Lan Zhan now, his eyes roving over him.

Lan Zhan nodded. “Don’t you dare leave me,” he said. He loved that scent, even though it made him restless. He wanted to know if it would get even stronger.

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian said. “If that’s what you want.” He leaned down to capture Lan Zhan’s lips in a kiss.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth and let his eyes fall shut. He kissed back for a moment before he said, "I'm not going to get any sleep for a few days so let me sleep now."

“I tried to get you to sleep earlier, if you’ll recall,” Wei Wuxian teased as he nuzzled back against Lan Zhan’s neck. He let his own eyes close and rested his weight on Lan Zhan, getting comfortable enough to be able to fall asleep.

Lan Zhan didn't respond to that. He took a deep breath and wiggled around underneath him. As fidgety as the scent made him, the knot and the weight was nice and he was eventually able to drift off.


	17. Rut

Wei Wuxian listened to the rhythm of Lan Zhan’s breathing as he fell asleep, comforted by the presence of the omega. However, it only took about an hour before Wei Wuxian felt restless. He grumbled as he shifted to pull out of Lan Zhan and then rolled off him and onto his back. He felt irritated, like there was an itch he couldn’t scratch. But regardless, he grabbed hold of Lan Zhan and pulled him into his arms with his back to his chest. The scent of his omega was the only thing that helped him fall back asleep.

Lan Zhan was woken up by the movement, but he tried not to mind it. The scent had gotten stronger, though, and his body was once again bothering him about being empty. He lay there for a minute or two before he decided that he couldn't stay. He carefully pried himself away from Wei Wuxian, very slowly so as not to wake him, and crawled out of the nest with a silk sheet wrapped around him. He went to the bathroom and dragged his achy legs over to the sink to wash himself down a little, then moseyed back to his nest with a loquat in hand.

Once Lan Zhan returned, Wei Wuxian immediately woke to the sweet, heady aroma of the fruit on top of Lan Zhan’s heat scent. His eyes fluttered open and he looked over at the loquat.

“Lan Zhan… share,” he demanded.

Lan Zhan sat down on the other side of the nest, wanting a break from that intoxicating scent. "Get your own," he said. The nest wasn't _too_ far from his loquat tree.

“No, I want yours,” Wei Wuxian replied.

He pushed himself and crawled over to Lan Zhan, not hesitating to shove himself entirely in Lan Zhan’s lap and grab the hand holding his loquat so he could take a bite out of it.

Lan Zhan made a noise of complaint and yanked his hand away. "Get your own!" he said again. Loquats weren't that big. He quickly ate the rest so that Wei Wuxian couldn't get anymore.

Wei Wuxian growled in response. He took Lan Zhan’s hand again and put each finger one by one to suck the juice from them.

The growl made Lan Zhan bristle and he growled back and yanked his hand away again.

"Rude!" he scolded him, then wiggled out from under him and crawled to the other side of the nest where he had his jugs of water tucked in the corner.

“Why are you so _mean_?” Wei Wuxian replied. He crawled after Lan Zhan and wrapped his arms around him, rutting up a little against his back and resting his head on Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “Stop being mean to me.”

Lan Zhan was annoyed. "You said you would be aggressive, not a _whiny baby,"_ he complained, reaching back to pry Wei Wuxian off of him. He ignored the fact that he had been nothing but a whiny baby for the past day or two. He got one of his jugs and drank some of the water, then set it down and rooted through his snack back for some dried meat.

“You’re a whiny baby. You’ve been nothing but a whiny baby since you went into heat,” Wei Wuxian argued back. He followed Lan Zhan around like a puppy, pinching and eating anything he decided to put into his mouth.

The fact that it was true only made Lan Zhan more mad. He growled and huddled over the bag, keeping everything tight in his fist before shoving it in his mouth like a food-aggressive dog. When he had eaten enough he moved away again and gathered his stuffed animals to try and ease his frustration by fretting over them. He figured he had maybe half an hour to one hour before he went into another bout of desperation (a ‘heat wave’ as he called them).

“Where do you think you’re going?” Wei Wuxian hissed, letting out another growl when Lan Zhan crawled away from him. He grabbed Lan Zhan’s ankle and dragged him towards him so he could climb over the top of him.

Having been taken from his imaginary babies, Lan Zhan snarled viciously, his scent turning aggressive (if not still sweet). If he was in his right mind he would have found it extremely arousing, and he probably would forget about the stuffed animals pretty soon, but he had been caught in a moment of indulgence in his maternal instincts.

It took only seconds for Wei Wuxian to growl back at him, crinkling his nose at the hostile scent. He couldn’t have this. He reached out and grabbed Lan Zhan’s wrists so he could pin them neither side of him and leaned down to lick broadly over Lan Zhan’s neck. “You are mine,” he said in a low rumble. “Only mine.”

Lan Zhan’s urges to fret over his stuffed animals faded away and he felt that familiar ache start back up again. It was too soon for him to need another knot and he moaned in complaint. But as his mind caught up with him he realized that he was having fun — this was _thrilling,_ the imminent threat made his heart race and his breath speed up. He _liked_ this aggression, this coercion. He knew that he could stop it if he really wanted to, but he _didn’t_ want to. This was his chance to get Wei Wuxian to be as rough with him as he wanted. Wei Wuxian was in rut, he wasn’t going to take Lan Zhan’s bratty complaints seriously. His aggressive scent faded out but he still growled again and turned onto his side, lifting up a leg to try and push Wei Wuxian away with it.

Wei Wuxian caught Lan Zhan’s ankle and pushed his leg to one side, rolling him back onto his back so he could look down at him. “Did you hear me?” he growled again. “You _belong_ to me. I am your alpha and you will _submit_ to me.”

Those words shook Lan Zhan. It hit something buried deep in him, something painful that he kept buried for a reason. Later when he looked back on this he would know that it reminded him of his childhood and watching his grandfather yell at his mother, or watching his father finally lose his temper. It was like the anxiety he got when alphas near him yelled or got aggressive. It had never been directed at _him_ so he never felt like he was in imminent danger; it just always made his hair stand on edge. He would always shrink a little and try to be quiet so they wouldn’t turn on him.

But in that moment, trapped under Wei Wuxian, he didn’t give his feelings enough thought to realize any of that. He just knew that the threat wasn’t _real_ even if it felt that way. He felt brave. He knew he could handle whatever Wei Wuxian did to him, and if he decided he wanted a break he had a trick up his sleeve to get him to snap out of it. He wouldn’t get hurt, Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be angry with him after his rut was over. So he could misbehave as much as he wanted to.

He grinned. “No.”

“No? What don’t you understand about this?” Wei Wuxian said.

His mind was a cloud of fog, the words coming out with no filter. He would definitely regret them once his head was clear but for now… He grabbed a fistful of Lan Zhan’s hair and tugged his head to the side to better expose his neck to him, eyes fixating on the scent gland at the base of his neck.

“I am the only alpha who will kiss you, fuck you, claim you… I will take care of you but the only children you will ever have will be mine.” With that, he leaned in to bite his neck, to claim him. It was only a soft claim but it was harder than he’d ever done it before and sure to last a few weeks.

Lan Zhan gasped and cried out, his eyes wide and growing wet. It _hurt._ He couldn’t move, he just had to sit there and wait until Wei Wuxian let go. That one was certainly going to last a while. It hadn’t been a hard claim, right? _Oh well,_ he thought. Even hard claims faded eventually. The pain seemed to make his body ache more and he writhed around as soon as Wei Wuxian let go.

“If you’re so tough then knot me already,” he growled.

That was a challenge that Wei Wuxian wasn’t going to say no to. He growled again and then pulled back so he could manhandle Lan Zhan until he was resting on his stomach. Wei Wuxian grabbed his hips to yank them up into the air and he reached down for his cock. He rubbed it through Lan Zhan’s slick. Once he deemed him wet enough, he eased it inside, a hand pressing down between Lan Zhan’s shoulder blades.

Lan Zhan was finally happy to give in. He was tired and weak and Wei Wuxian could take it from there. He closed his eyes and grabbed a silk sheet to gather up under him and hold onto.

Wei Wuxian actually let out an affectionate croon when Lan Zhan submitted to him. He nuzzled against his neck, laving his tongue over his claim, and then started to thrust eagerly in and out of him. He built up a rough, hard pace, fucking in quickly.

_Gods_ it felt good. Lan Zhan moaned into the sheet and reached between his legs to touch himself. He didn’t move his hand fast, just enough to get some stimulation.

“Such a good little omega,” Wei Wuxian praised between moans. He wouldn’t last long, not when he was in rut like this. He ached to knot something, someone, _anything._

Lan Zhan let go of his cock and reached up to grab the hand that was on his back. He pulled it down between his legs. “Touch me,” he said.

“Yes,” Wei Wuxian rasped. He took hold of Lan Zhan’s cock and started to stroke it, squeezing the head every few thrusts. It was only a little later that Wei Wuxian came with a long moan, spilling hot into him and his knot expanding.

Lan Zhan was right with him. The orgasm wasn’t as fast and hard this time but it was just as intense, making its way through his body like a wave and leaving him breathless. He whined into the sheets and went completely limp, making Wei Wuxian hold him up.

Wei Wuxian panted against Lan Zhan’s skin. Now that he had knot inside Lan Zhan, the fog of his rut was starting to clear a little. He closed his eyes while he caught his breath and relaxed, though another orgasm hit him shortly after, pumping another load of cum inside Lan Zhan’s heat.

“Lan Zhan…” he mumbled.

He felt like he was forgetting something. There was something important… Think, Wei Wuxian, think. Then, it hit him. The vials. The contraceptive vials. Lan Zhan hadn’t taken one this morning, not since yesterday morning. And he’d just… knotted inside him while he was in heat.

Oh, Gods. “Fuck… _Fuck,_ ” he cursed. He summoned his magic again to whip out the tentacles again and dragged his bag over to them. He reached inside to grab one of the vials and desperately brought it to Lan Zhan’s lips. “Lan Zhan, drink. Please. Quick.”

Lan Zhan was blissed out and so he was a bit behind. He opened his mouth and let Wei Wuxian pour it in, his eyes locked on where those tentacles had come out of. He didn’t even care what he was drinking, he just wanted to know what those were. He swallowed quickly and asked, referring to the appendages that had already disappeared, “What’s that?”

“What’s…what?” Wei Wuxian asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He took the vial from Lan Zhan when he had finished drinking it and put it back in his bag. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Lan Zhan grabbed Wei Wuxian’s hand and pulled it back down, opening it up as if he could still see the tentacles. “The things,” he said.

Wei Wuxian looked confused but soon realised that he was talking about the tentacles. “Oh,” he said. He made the tentacles summon again, wiggling out from his palm. “These?”

Lan Zhan jumped and gasped. It was frightening to see them actually come out. He knew they weren’t _really_ coming out of his hand, it just looked like it. But still. He hesitantly held his hand up like he was going to touch it but he pulled it back. They were fascinating but he wasn’t sure he wanted to feel them.

“They’re my little helpers,” Wei Wuxian said as the tentacles wiggled in his hand. “I conjured them. It’s like having an extra set of really long arms. I can grab stuff with them. How do you think I manage to get up to your window without a ladder? I can make big ones that can lift my body weight.”

“You don’t use the ladder?” Lan Zhan asked. The ladders didn’t go all the way down to the ground; they were too tall to reach from the bottom and were only meant as an escape. But Lan Zhan just assumed he conjured something to pull himself up to it and climbed the rest of the way. He hesitantly reached over to poke one of them with his finger and he quickly pulled away again. It felt _weird._

“Squishy...”

“No. Just use these babies to lift me up then I sit on your windowsill,” Wei Wuxian explained. He watched Lan Zhan’s expression with fascination.

Lan Zhan squeezed his fingers into fists and opened them repeatedly in the way he did when he needed something tactile in his hands. He wanted to grab the tentacles and squeeze, but he was unsure. They looked so weird. Hesitantly, he reached out and poked the tip of one of them.

The tentacles didn’t particularly respond to the touch, just continued to writhe in Wei Wuxian’s palm as Lan Zhan touched them. “They won’t hurt you,” Wei Wuxian said.

Feeling a little braver, Lan Zhan stuck his hand into the stalk of them and wrapped it around a couple. They wiggled in his palm and it felt so creepy that he had to pull his hand away again.

“Weird...”

Wei Wuxian let them dissipate after a moment. “Have you really never seen them before? I feel like I use them all the time…”

“I saw them yesterday,” Lan Zhan said. He still had the heeby-jeebies from the feeling of them in his hand and he squeezed the silk under him. He needed more and he looked behind him. All of his babies were in a neat pile too far away for him to reach.

“Give me a baby,” he said, his hand reaching back forward the pile. “The green one.”

Wei Wuxian went rigid when Lan Zhan asked for a baby. It was only when he started grabbing towards the pile of stuffed animals that he realised that he was not in fact, talking about a real child. He took a deep breath and summoned the tentacles to go and grab the green stuffed animal that Lan Zhan was referring to.

Lan Zhan bristled when those tentacles touched the stuffed animal and he growled softly. As soon as it was in reach he snatched the baby from their grasp and pulled it under his neck and chest protectively. It was a vague blob-like stuffed animal, though there were two long bunny ears and a bunny face stitched onto it. It was one of the first ones he had made himself so it wasn’t the prettiest. He kissed it and pet its soft body, a croon starting up in his chest.

“So you… think of those stuffed animals like your babies?” Wei Wuxian asked softly. It was unbearably cute, especially seeing Lan Zhan snuggle up to them.

“Sometimes,” Lan Zhan said quietly. He felt weird about it, since it was something very personal to him. But it was an unstoppable instinct during his heat. Wei Wuxian was supposed to be taking care of him during this time, so it was only right for him to know about that need of his.

“I need to... do this during heat,” he said. “Be careful with them. I’ll bite your head off if you throw them around.”

“I won’t. I’d never do anything to hurt your babies,” Wei Wuxian mumbled, nuzzling up to him and kissing his cheek.

Lan Zhan hummed. He was satisfied with that answer. “I had a dream that they were kittens and you were trying to eat them last night,” he said. “I didn’t hesitate to fight you.”

“Is that what you think of me?” Wei Wuxian asked with a slight teasing lilt to his tone, just so Lan Zhan knew he wasn’t seriously accusing him of anything.

“Watch your back,” Lan Zhan replied, equally teasing though his tone was still monotonous. He was quiet for a minute, then a thought poked him. “What does it feel like to be in rut?” he asked.

“Exhausting. It feels… hot. And I want to growl at everything that so much as comes near you. I’m… jealous. You’re my omega and I want to have your attention,” Wei Wuxian explained. “What about heats? What are they like?”

Lan Zhan didn’t mind that as much as he would have expected. He wasn’t too fond of the words _my omega_ but if Wei Wuxian was jealous over him then he wouldn’t complain. “That’s why you were eating my food,” he grumbled.

He considered the question after that. “Heats are also hot and exhausting,” he said, his voice soft and distant with thought. “But my body hurts. It’s like... when you get very sick and it’s hard to walk around and your body aches. I think it’s because my body temperature is so high. It acts like I’m sick. And I have urges to hold my babies. Most of my dreams are about being pregnant or taking care of baby animals. Or having sex.”

“That sounds like it sucks. I mostly just to fuck anything that moves with a nice smell or bite its head off,” Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh.

“Anything that moves?” Lan Zhan questioned. “Didn’t you just say you wanted _me?”_ He was joking. (He was half joking.)

“You are someone that moves with a good scent, aren’t you?” Wei Wuxian teased back. He kissed his cheek again. “But I’m talking about in general. This is the first time I’ve had a rut where I’ve had an omega to share it with. Of course I want _you._ ”

Lan Zhan huffed. He shouldn’t care, but he did. He cared a _lot._ “Good,” he mumbled. He pat his stuffed animal and then looked behind him. “Give me another baby,” he said. “Reach for it if you can. Don’t just drag it over...”

Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan so he could lift him with him as he shuffled towards the stash of stuffed animals. Eventually, he was close enough to be able to reach one so he set Lan Zhan back down and grabbed hold of it so he could bring it to him.

Lan Zhan crooned as he pulled the baby next to his other one and he situated them under him. He was happy as a lark in that moment, his body aches were gone (though he was too restless to sleep because of that rut scent) and he had his babies and his—

He stopped his thought mid-sentence and said, “I hope you don’t freak out when Gege brings food.”

Lan Xichen had come by the night before with some food, Lan Zhan had heard the loud knocking from all the way across the room. He had made Wei Wuxian get up to bring the food in after a few minutes. It had been more food than usual, but Lan Xichen had been fretting over him not eating lately so that was probably why.

There was no way that Wei Wuxian could tell Lan Zhan that his brother knew that they were sleeping together and that Wei Wuxian was going to be there through his heat, so he didn’t comment on the large amount of food when it arrived.

Wei Wuxian’s rut only lasted a few days, then it was just easing Lan Zhan through the rest of his heat. They had formed a cycle of sex, eating, more sex, then bathing, and repeat. When it was finally over, Wei Wuxian was still wrapped up next to Lan Zhan, holding him in his arms. He’d significantly cooled down since the beginning of all this.

“Hey… Lan Zhan…” he mumbled. “I’m really sorry for all the things I said during my rut. I didn’t mean any of it.”

Lan Zhan was sleepy, as he always was after his heat ended. He usually slept for a day or two before he could start cleaning up. He didn’t really understand what Wei Wuxian was talking about. He had said a lot of things during rut. “Hm?”

“You know, about you… belonging to me and that you should submit because you’re an omega and…” Wei Wuxian started but he felt tears welling in his eyes. With a sniffle, he pressed his forehead against Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “It’s… gross. To behave like that. It’s exactly what I hate in these pig-headed alphas and here I am, not being any better. I’m sorry. Please forgive my disgusting behaviour.”

Was he crying? Lan Zhan turned around in Wei Wuxian’s arms to look at him in disbelief. Yes, he really was crying.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked. “Did I ever submit when you told me to? I didn’t take you seriously.”

“I know…! I know. But I still shouldn’t have… I took it too far. A bit of roughhousing and dirty talk is one thing but…” Wei Wuxian said. He rubbed his eyes.

Lan Zhan felt annoyed that he had to explain this. “I liked pushing you that far,” he said. “I wanted to see how mean you would get. I was hoping you would hurt me a little...”

“Wait,” Wei Wuxian said. He blinked quickly at Lan Zhan. “You… _wanted_ me to hurt you?”

Lan Zhan nodded. He supposed he had to talk about this if he wanted Wei Wuxian to understand. “I talked back at you because I wanted you to try and punish me for it.” He paused, then added, “And I knew if I wanted out I could say there was a dog behind you.”

Wei Wuxian was about to reply but his mouth snapped shut again. He was going to scare him with a dog? Well, it would have definitely worked but he was glad that Lan Zhan never felt pushed to use that. He might’ve had a panic attack on the spot.

“I… Well. Now I know. For later, I mean,” he said.

Lan Zhan hummed. “We should have something like that,” he said. “So I can tell you to stop or... be nicer. And you don’t have to be all concerned.”

“Maybe… we could use colours? Like, red for stop. Yellow for… be nicer? Slow down,” Wei Wuxian suggested with a cock of his eyebrow.

Lan Zhan considered that. He supposed red could be a bright and alarming color. “Okay,” he said.

Now that they were talking seriously about this, he wanted to put down some ground rules. He took a moment to go through them all and gather his words. “You can say those things to me again. And you can hold me down and growl at me and hit me. You can choke me but only on the outside and only with your body. No taking off all my clothes unless you ask. You can pull my hair but don’t drag me by it. If I fight you, don’t stop unless I say red or yellow.”

“Okay. I can do that,” Wei Wuxian said. He pursed his lips in thought as he wondered if there was any hard lines for him as well. “I don’t… think there’s anything that bothers me. Don’t pull my hair out I guess but anything else is fine. You can hit and kick me if you want, scratch, bite me…”

Lan Zhan hummed. He might take him up on that. “Jiang Wanyin said you know how to wrestle,” he said.

“We used to wrestle a lot when we were younger, for fun. What else did he say? That he kicked my ass? Well, he was wrong. I used to kick his ass most of the time,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

Lan Zhan thought that was interesting. One of them was a liar. But regardless, “I think I can kick your ass.”

Wei Wuxian snorted with laughter. “Oh, that’s a good joke, Lan Zhan! Sorry, but I think I could wrestle you down with one hand.”

“That’s because I haven’t put in any effort,” Lan Zhan said, completely serious. “You’re stronger than me but I could beat you at least once. It isn’t all about strength.”

“You really think that? Oh Gods, you’re serious! Hahaha, you’re actually serious! Okay, okay, tell you what. You really wanted to fuck me, didn’t you? If you can beat me in a wrestle, I’ll let you do whatever you want. If you want me on my hands and knees while you fuck me, I’ll oblige,” Wei Wuxian suggested. “But if I win, then you’ll do the same for me. Spread your legs and behave while I fuck you.”

Lan Zhan’s pupils dilated and his lips parted. He liked that idea a _lot._ He had been wanting to fuck Wei Wuxian but he didn’t know how to bring it up again. It did make him wonder, though. “How would I fuck you? I don’t know anything about... that place.”

“There’s a shop in the city that does… supplies, for this sort of thing. I’m sure we’ll be able to find something there. Ah, just to be clear, I’ve never been in. I’ve just walked past,” Wei Wuxian said.

A sex shop? Lan Zhan had seen it before, but only from afar. He could only imagine what kinds of things could be sold in one of those. He was deathly curious, but he wouldn’t want to go in one and be seen. “We can fight after the trip,” he said. “I’m too tired right now.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Wei Wuxian replied. He sighed and squeezed him close. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Lan Zhan closed his eyes, but he sighed. He couldn’t sleep in this filth anymore. “Can you bathe me again?” he asked shamelessly. “I want to sleep in my bed. It’s gross in here.”

“Mmm, of course,” Wei Wuxian said. He sat up and helped Lan Zhan to his feet as well, then hauled him up into his arms, carrying him out of the nest. He set him down behind the privacy screen as he filled the tub. They cleaned themselves up in the hot water and dressed into a sleeping robe so they could settle down on the bed together.

It was nice and clean in his bed and Lan Zhan purred. He loved being fresh after his heat ended. It was nice to have Wei Wuxian around too, admittedly. He pulled Blue into his arms and wiggled around until he was comfortable enough to fall asleep.


	18. The Capitol

He stayed in bed for a few days after that, just resting and recovering from his heat. Then he gradually started to clean up his nest and replace everything in it and wash stuff in the bathtub. On the next Friday, he packed his bags and waited for Wei Wuxian outside of the gates of campus at around three in the afternoon.

He had told his family where he was going and that Wei Wuxian was going with him. Lan Xichen had seemed a little concerned, probably because the city they were going to was where Lan Zhan’s father lived, but he didn’t comment.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t wait to see Lan Zhan again. He had a skip in his step as he approached Lan Zhan at the gates, his bag over his shoulder. Once he saw him, he grinned and waved.

“Lan Zhan!” he cooed. “Are you ready to go?”

Lan Zhan nodded. He pulled his bag onto his back and went to the carriage he had asked for a few days earlier. It would take them all the way to the Capitol. It would be a long ride and they probably wouldn’t arrive until nightfall. The carriage driver waited until they were situated in the back before they started moving. It was a nice one at least, it had actual benches in it with cushioned seats, and a roof over the top even if the sides were open. His uncle had decided to pay for it since it was for Lan Zhan’s research.

“Have you been to the Capitol before?” Lan Zhan asked.

“Mhmm. Once. I came here with Jiang Wanyin, we wanted to check out the surrounding area before we came to live in Gusu,” Wei Wuxian explained, easily getting comfy by Lan Zhan’s side in the back of the carriage.

“It’s a nice city,” Lan Zhan said.

He didn’t really have much else to say, especially not with a stranger in earshot, so he stayed quiet for the rest of the way. It was so boring. Lan Zhan watched the scenery slowly go by and listened to the sound of the horses’ hooves on the rocky road. Eventually he lay down in Wei Wuxian’s lap and tried to sleep.

Wei Wuxian was happy to comb his fingers through Lan Zhan’s hair when he rested his head on his lap. He was so peaceful like this.

Lan Zhan was ready to pop out of the carriage when he saw the city wall on the horizon. It was well past sunset now, but the wall had fire pits all along the top of it and they shone bright. His legs ached from being stuck in a carriage all day. It was getting close to nine probably; they wouldn’t run into his father this late. He wanted to avoid that if possible.

When they got to the gates, Lan Zhan set the small bag of money in the driver’s hand and thanked him for taking them this far. He pulled Wei Wuxian by the sleeve into the city.

As much as Wei Wuxian wanted to hold Lan Zhan’s hand, he knew that Lan Zhan probably wouldn’t appreciate that. He let himself be pulled along by him with a smile. “What do you want to do?” he asked. “It’s pretty late.”

“Just walk around,” Lan Zhan said. Many shops stayed open well into the night in the Capitol, and the streets were lit by hanging lanterns. The place he wanted to go wouldn’t be open, but there was a shop for just about anything.

“…I’m not allowed to hold your hand, am I?” Wei Wuxian said, his cheeks burning a little. “I just worry, you being out late at night here. Of course, you’re always safe when I’m here haha…”

Lan Zhan held his arms. He didn’t want to hold anyone’s hand, he didn’t like that kind of thing. It felt weird. “No,” he said.

Wei Wuxian offered his arm out. “What about linking arms?”

Lan Zhan stared at his arm. It might not be too bad. He had touched Wei Wuxian plenty of times. He could always let go if he didn’t like it. He moved closer and hooked his arm through his.

Wei Wuxian practically beamed at that. They actually felt like a couple like this and he was sure that anyone who saw them would think the same. No alpha would dare to approach him. “Not so bad, huh?” he said.

“Mm.” To be honest, Lan Zhan felt awkward and stiff. He wasn’t used to being like this in public. But was sure that he would feel more awkward if he moved away. He could deal with this for now.

Wei Wuxian grinned to himself and continued to walk around with Lan Zhan, looking around as he did. The Capitol was pretty at night.

It wasn’t too crowded either, only a couple people walked around and went into shops. Lan Zhan had to remind himself that he was saving up money to buy a rabbit as he passed the clothing shops filled with beautiful robes. He thought about that sheer red one Wei Wuxian had bought for him in Gusu. What other intimate clothes would they have in a city as big as this?

A little while later, they finally headed in the direction of the sex shop that Wei Wuxian had seen the last time he came to the Capitol. He stopped when he saw it, turning to look at Lan Zhan. “Hey, there it is,” he said, nudging him. “If we’re going to find anything to help you get inside me, it’ll be in there. Ready to go in?”

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened. He had forgotten about this. He looked between the sign and Wei Wuxian a few times, then he looked around them. No one was staring... his ears reddened. As shameless as he was with Wei Wuxian, this was a public place. And not just with university boys, these were respectable, grown adults walking around. How could he save face? But he was dying to know what they had in there... he nodded.

Wei Wuxian smiled and nodded. He pushed open the door and walked inside with Lan Zhan still wrapped around his arm. Admittedly, he felt his own cheeks heat up a little when he saw everything on display. There were sex toys, outfits, and many other miscellaneous bits and pieces that Wei Wuxian couldn’t name.

Lan Zhan hid his face in Wei Wuxian's shoulder. The shopkeeper looked up at them from the counter and smiled, but he didn't say anything. Lan Zhan was grateful for that. He finally decided to be brave and look around. There was no one else in the store, and he might never get the chance to come here again. He couldn't help but go to the corner that held the outfits. It was hidden behind a display for one thing, and well, he just liked looking at pretty clothes. He was surprised to find a couple that were made for male omegas. He was especially interested in the silk and lace underwear. It actually had space for a dick to sit! He wanted at least one... though he probably would never wear them for very long.

“You like this one? It definitely seems more accommodating for you compared to the stuff I see closer to campus,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum, following Lan Zhan’s gaze to the pretty outfit he was eyeing up behind the glass.

Lan Zhan chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at the outfit. He was saving up money... and it wasn't cheap. But maybe if he started making his own money soon, he could earn it back in time. It was more like a dress than a robe, with a sleeveless silk bodice and a skirt that would probably make it halfway down his thighs. The only lace was in the front, in the shape of a heart. Also the part that would hold it up was similar to a dudou except instead of strings, it was a big lacy ribbon. Like some kind of fancy collar. The knee-high stockings also caught his attention. It was like they had made this outfit with Lan Zhan in mind. He could probably also put on that hair ornament Wei Wuxian had bought him...

But it would drain his money. He needed to save for the rabbit _and_ for the seeds he was going to buy. Maybe he could put on the puppy eyes and ask his father.

“I know you’ll puff your cheeks and huff at me if I offer to buy it for you,” Wei Wuxian said. He wasn’t sure he would be able to afford it anyway with the amount he was spending on Lan Zhan the past couple months. However, he wasn’t about to tell Lan Zhan that. “But you’re going to start earning money soon, right? You should treat yourself.”

That was true. Lan Zhan let himself be convinced. He knelt down and looked through the sizes, carefully unfolding and folding each one until he found the right fit. He got the stockings and underwear as well, feeling giddy. He took it to the counter and set it there, then returned to look around the store again.

He only had some money left, but honestly, he might spend it entirely in here. He would have to go crawling to his father in the morning and ask prettily to be taken to the store he wanted to go to, but he had done that before. It was worth it, he decided.

He saw a glass dildo and eyed it intensely. Gods, he didn't have enough money. He wanted it... the nights when Wei Wuxian wasn't there were miserable. He gave it a mournful look before moving on. He found a box labeled "sex potions" and he took a look inside. There were sealed envelopes, and each one had its name written on it. They were alchemy ingredients?

"Aphrodisiac," he mumbled as he picked up the envelope. "What is that?"

“Sexual stimulants. Aphrodisiacs make you horny. Lan Zhan, do you really not know this stuff?” Wei Wuxian asked. He had been a virgin before he met Lan Zhan, but that didn’t mean he never heard talk growing up. As a teenager, he was surrounded by other alphas who discussed all sorts of things of a sexual nature.

Lan Zhan certainly didn't need help being horny. He ignored the question and continued rooting through the box. There were some that had some weird names, but when he found an envelope named 'lubricant' he handed it to Wei Wuxian.

"We can make our own," he said, "I have an alchemy table in my room."

They would have to look at the ingredients after buying the recipe, but it was a start. They had to make sure not to let his father see the ingredients if they bought them; he was a potions master and knew just about every concoction known to man.

Wei Wuxian looked down at the envelope with a pleased hum. If they could make their own, that would be extremely beneficial. That way, they wouldn’t have to take frequent trips or buy obscene amounts. Hopefully, the ingredients were easy to get. “Are there any toys here you like the look of?” Wei Wuxian asked in a hushed tone so the shopkeeper couldn’t hear him. “We don’t have to buy them but I could definitely recreate them with my magic.”

Lan Zhan looked around. There were a couple different objects that he assumed were meant for penetration. He eyed one that was bent in a sort of S shape, thicker at the bottom and tapering off to a rounded point at the top. "You could try that next time," he whispered.

He went up to a folded piece of silk something and picked it up. The description said it was a blindfold, and that it could also be used to tie hands. He hummed and looked at Wei Wuxian with a little fire in his eyes.

Wei Wuxian followed Lan Zhan’s gaze, noting the strange shape of the toy and nodded. Then, looked back to what he was holding. “Do you want me to tie you up?” he asked, sliding a hand around his waist. “Or did you want to tie _me_ up?”

"You," Lan Zhan said. "But I like the other idea too." He turned the cloth around in his hands and then set it back down neatly. "You could also tie it around my mouth."

If Wei Wuxian did that, he wouldn't be able to say a color. But maybe they could come up with hand signals or something.

“You can tie me up if you want to. It would be a great excuse to lay back and watch you ride me to your heart’s content,” Wei Wuxian said. He already found himself daydreaming about the idea.

"Or fuck you," Lan Zhan whispered. He walked over to a bookshelf and picked out a book to look at it. All of them were bound in leather and their titles were hidden, but a look inside told him they were picture books. These were banned outside of dorm rooms on campus. He had always wondered what the appeal about them was.

Wei Wuxian’s face flushed crimson. He was struck with the mental images of him tied and bound, crying into the sheets as Lan Zhan pounded into him from behind. There would be no blaming him if he wanted to enact revenge on all the times that he’d manhandled him and roughed him up during sex. Gods, what had he gotten himself into?

“What have you got there?” he asked, quickly changing topic. He peered over Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “Oooh! I loved these as a teenager. I could never afford the expensive ones but me and Jiang Wanyin used to look at them in secret all the time.”

Of course he had. Lan Zhan took his time pulling out each book and quickly flipping through it. A lot of them weren't that well drawn. All of the ones he looked at made his nose wrinkle. Even though he liked thinking of himself in these kinds of positions, seeing women naked and tied up was a little upsetting. Maybe it was because he simply couldn't see women in a sexual nature.

The shopkeeper cleared his throat. "You might like the ones on the top right," he said. It was the first time he had spoken, and his voice was gruff. Lan Zhan glanced at him with narrowed eyes but curiosity got the best of him. He reached up on his tip toes and grabbed a book on the top right shelf and flipped through it. _Oh, I see,_ he thought. They were male omegas.

“Oh wow. I’ve never seen ones with male omegas before,” Wei Wuxian said with interest, peering down at the book Lan Zhan was holding.

Lan Zhan was probably more fascinated than he should be. He was a little slower this time as he flipped through the pages, pausing every now and then to look at the detailed pictures. He set that one down and grabbed another one. He probably spent upwards of half an hour looking through the seven books they had with male omegas. The others next to it were purely male alphas; rutsluts, which he found mildly interesting. He looked at one of those for a bit just to see how they depicted the anal sex. But he soon turned back to the ones on the right. He had saved the biggest one for last, and the first page had a picture of an omega wearing day clothes and smiling. His hair was in a ponytail. Lan Zhan looked at Wei Wuxian, whose hair was also in a ponytail at the moment.

"It's you," he said. He was joking, but his tone and expression were as deadpan as always.

“You wish,” Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh. Ever since Lan Zhan brought it up, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he would be like if he was an omega. He doubted that he would be as quiet and timid as a lot of the omega girls he saw walking around, even with that kind of upbringing, he was sure he’d be a miscreant. Would it get him into a lot of trouble? Dangerous trouble? At least he would be cute.

That comment embarrassed Lan Zhan a little. Was he that obvious? He had only brought it up once. He looked back down at the book and started looking through it. Apparently it was a storybook and not just porn. The story part didn't seem that in depth, though. He gathered that the main character was a traveler and stole from people, and he had a lot of sex. He did just about everything; he fucked men and women, alphas and omegas. He caught sight of a scene where he fucked another omega man and he quickly shut the book, ears burning hot.

He looked at the price; it was a little bit more than what he had leftover. It was a thick book, and the art was well done. That was probably why it was so expensive. "How much money do you have?" he asked Wei Wuxian.

“Enough to help you pay for that book if you want it,” Wei Wuxian replied. He’d been equally entranced by the omega man in the book as Lan Zhan pawed through the pages.

Lan Zhan went to the counter and set the book on it, then waited for Wei Wuxian to add the envelope before he emptied his entire bag of money on the counter. "Hope you have enough left for a room," the shopkeeper joked as he counted it. That was a good point. He hoped Wei Wuxian had enough money for a room, otherwise they'd... have to go to his father's house. He wanted to avoid that.

Wei Wuxian added a little of his own money to make up the remaining cost of the items. Truthfully, he couldn’t wait for the next break so he could weasel more money from the Jiangs. Lan Zhan really was an expensive matter. He gave him a confident nod anyway.

Lan Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. "I love this one," the shopkeeper said, referring to the book. "A lot of alphas don't wanna admit it, but being pegged is the way to go." He winked at Wei Wuxian and put the money away. "You two have fun."

Lan Zhan quickly took the clothes and stuffed them in his bag, along with his new book.

“I intend to find out,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile, feeling pretty at ease with the way the shopkeeper seemed to be so casual with it all. There was no use being embarrassed, he supposed. This guy had seen what they’d looked and overheard most of their conversation.

"Thank you," Lan Zhan said quietly before he took Wei Wuxian by the sleeve and dragged him back out of the store. "Do you have enough money for a room? We can find a cheap one."

“I have enough but the cheaper the better if you want to eat tomorrow,” Wei Wuxian said, happily being dragged out of the store with Lan Zhan.

"We'll eat fine tomorrow," Lan Zhan said. Fine was one way to put it. He wondered if his father would have a problem with letting Wei Wuxian eat with them; he always picked the most expensive places in the city. At this point there was no avoiding it; he had to ask his father for money whether he wanted to or not.


	19. Dirty Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Trigger warning: attempted (but unsuccessful) sexual assault at the end of the chapter.**

It was well into the night now and very few people were out. Most of the shops were closed, but that made it easier to find inns. They went further toward the wall of the city to find a cheaper place to stay, and eventually they did. There were other patrons there and the walls would surely be very thin; if they did anything they would have to be extremely quiet.

Wei Wuxian paid for a room for the two of them and took the key. He guided him up the stairs to their room and then shut the door behind them. “Remind you of anything?” Wei Wuxian teased with a slight smile as he took off his boots and jacket.

Lan Zhan hummed. That had been a fateful morning. He remembered how hungry he had been when he woke up, and not just for the oranges. Trying to see how big Wei Wuxian's dick was through their clothes... he took off his forehead ribbon and then took out his new clothes. He stripped down naked before stepping into the dress and pulling it up his body. It fit like a glove, and he was happy to see that the chest area was perfectly fit. Looking in the mirror he tied the ribbon behind his neck and decided that he looked _really_ good with a collar.

“Wow,” Wei Wuxian breathed from afar. He had watched Lan Zhan change into the dress he had bought and it was amazing how well it fit alone, never mind just how stunning he looked in it. He walked over and couldn’t help putting his greedy hands on Lan Zhan’s waist.

“It fits you perfectly. You look amazing.”

Lan Zhan smiled a little and turned to the side to look. The skirt actually looked cute on him, the silk falling in little waves over his hips. He got out the underwear and pulled those on as well, then the stockings. He looked adorable at the end, slim and sexy. This was pretty comfortable too. The lace heart in the front did make his nipples visible and it wasn't the softest thing, but the rest of the dress was perfect.

He pulled the skirt up on one hip to see the lacy underwear. "I like these panties," he whispered. "They actually fit in the front."

Wei Wuxian hungrily followed Lan Zhan’s fingers and roved openly over his thighs and where the panties hugged his body. Gods, he looked good enough to eat. “Are you trying to seduce me? Because if so, it is definitely working,” he said.

Lan Zhan turned around and ran his hands up Wei Wuxian's chest and grabbed his shirt. "These walls are thin," he replied in a whisper. "I don't think you can be quiet enough. Maybe you'll have to go without."

“What if I don’t care if people hear me? I have no shame to be heard moaning for you,” Wei Wuxian replied, placing his hands on Lan Zhan’s hips. The way he was running his fingers over his chest was already driving him crazy.

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip. Wei Wuxian might not mind, but Lan Zhan would. Worst case scenario, someone banged on their door and complained.

"Go lay down," he whispered before he pulled away and went to the washbasin to wash up for bed. If he ended up bending over a little too far to show off his panties, it wasn't his problem.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips and nodded. He walked over to the bed and stripped off his shirt and pants, then laid on the bed in wait.

Lan Zhan took his time getting ready, then he sauntered over to the bed. He crawled over Wei Wuxian and sat down on his thighs, just in front of the important stuff. He raised his finger to his lips, instructing him to be quiet.

Wei Wuxian returned the gesture by putting a finger to his own lips. He roved his eyes openly over Lan Zhan’s body and wondered how he was going to not stain the beautiful outfit he was wearing.

Lan Zhan drew one hand up his thigh and ducked it under, going to fiddle around between his legs. He blinked a few times in surprise when he felt a hole at the bottom of his underwear, right over his vagina. He felt around it and it had a seam there, so obviously it was meant to be there. He supposed that these weren’t really made to be worn during the day. They had a specific purpose. He scooted up Wei Wuxian’s body and leaned over him to kiss him passionately, his fingers sliding up Wei Wuxian’s neck to hold his face.

Wei Wuxian was happy to kiss back and he did so with passion. They hadn’t had sex since Lan Zhan’s heat after all. He skimmed his hands up and down Lan Zhan’s sides, feeling the soft material under his fingers.

Lan Zhan took one of Wei Wuxian’s hands and slid it under his skirt, letting him choose what he did with it. He nibbled on his bottom lip and then moved to kiss down his neck to where he’d accidentally left that claim before. It was gone now, but he still liked to mess with that spot.

At that, Wei Wuxian let out a shaky breath. His fingers slid up Lan Zhan’s inner thighs and then down over his crotch, caressing his cock through the thin material of his panties and then down to the hole. He couldn’t escape the way his breath hitched when he came into contact with the hot skin there. He glanced at Lan Zhan as he slid his finger over his opening but didn’t push inside just yet.

Lan Zhan loved the feeling of Wei Wuxian’s hands on him. He pushed his hips down, wanting that finger to go further in. He put his own finger to his lips again. “Speak quietly,” he whispered. “Do you like this outfit?”

“I do,” Wei Wuxian whispered. He eased his finger inside, giving it a few experimental thrusts and then pushing a second one inside. “I like it a lot. You look incredible.”

_Incredible_ wasn’t the word Lan Zhan was looking for. He rolled his hips over those fingers. “Does it make you hard?” he breathed.

Wei Wuxian breathed a small laugh. “Yes. Very much. That’s what you want to hear, is it? I could eat you right up, Lan Zhan. You look so sexy, it’s taking all of my self control not to bend you over the bed and fuck you until you cry.”

Lan Zhan smiled and giggled quietly. “You like it when I cry during sex?” he whispered. “I did it a lot in heat.”

He had been embarrassed after his heat ended, but it was dampened by the fact that Wei Wuxian had also acted like a fool during his rut. They were even on that matter.

“As long as it’s out of pleasure, out of how overwhelmed you are because it feels so good being split open on my cock,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan rolled his hips over those fingers some more. “What about crying because I’m desperate and in agony because I need you so bad?” he breathed. “I think I’d like to see you do that.”

“Me?” Wei Wuxian replied, pushing his fingers in a little harder, rubbing up against his sweet spot in that memorised motion. “You want to see me cry for you to fuck me?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “I want to tie you up and tease you and then leave you until you beg to my liking,” he whispered. “Get ready. Once we make that recipe it’s all over for you.”

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched. Letting Lan Zhan do such a thing to him was not something he had previously considered; it wasn’t often that alphas thought about being fucked. There were many derogatory things people threw around to insult alphas who liked that sort of thing, especially if it was by other alphas. But Wei Wuxian had an open mind. Being at Lan Zhan’s whim didn’t sound so bad either.

“We’ll see how long you last listening to me talk,” he said.

Lan Zhan smiled a little. He might not last too long, depending on how hard Wei Wuxian went. He _did_ love that dirty mouth.

“You already have something up your sleeve?” he asked, moving his hips in small movements with Wei Wuxian’s fingers.

“You’ve never been inside someone, have you? You might not last two seconds,” Wei Wuxian replied. He pulled his fingers out slowly.

Lan Zhan hummed quietly. “I never cum without fucking myself,” he whispered. “It might take me a while.” He didn’t really know what it would be like. He had fucked Wei Wuxian’s mouth a few times, but he felt like that would be different.

“It’s very different to your hand,” Wei Wuxian said. He pulled Lan Zhan by the hips towards him, coaxing him towards his face. “Sit on my face so I can eat you out?”

Lan Zhan wasn’t going to argue against that. He scooted up the bed and lifted his skirt a bit so he could peek at Wei Wuxian as he settled down over his face.

Wei Wuxian was eager to follow through. He gripped Lan Zhan’s hips under the skirt and drew his tongue along the soft skin that was presented to him. Already, he was so wet. Wei Wuxian lapped up every last bit of slick that seeped out of him, then pushed his tongue inside him.

Lan Zhan leaned forward, pressing his forehead to the headboard and closed his eyes. He untied Wei Wuxian's hair from its ponytail and dug his fingers in to hold his head. The feeling wasn't intense at all, but he liked the way it tickled and sent little buzzes of pleasure up his spine. He let go with one hand so he could take his cock out of his underwear and play with it.

Wei Wuxian kept it up, licking and nibbling gently over Lan Zhan's opening. He eased two of his fingers back in to spread him out, curling them into his sweet spot.

Lan Zhan hissed and jumped a little when Wei Wuxian nipped at him down there, even though it was gentle and didn't hurt. It made his heart race and he had to bite his lip to keep from giggling. He brought his left arm to rest on the headboard and he pressed his mouth against it to muffle anything that might come out unintentionally. His right hand started moving a little faster over his dick, playing with the head a little in between.

Wei Wuxian kept up a consistent pace between moving his tongue and his fingers in and out of Lan Zhan, hoping to make him cum before he even tried fucking him.

Lan Zhan was edging himself so it took at least several more minutes for him to get there. He would pump his cock hard and fast until he got close then he would let go completely and let himself simmer down, then he'd go right back to working himself up again. He loved to do that, especially when Wei Wuxian was taking care of the penetration part. He could do it for a much, _much_ longer time, but he was impatient to ride Wei Wuxian already so he eventually let himself cum. He bit his arm to muffle his noises, though there wasn't a whole lot to muffle. He was good at keeping quiet.

He pulled away from Wei Wuxian's face and moved back down his body, still breathing heavily. "I should wear the hair ornament next time," he breathed.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips as he looked Lan Zhan over. Making Lan Zhan cum was one of his favourite parts of their whole encounter. “The one I bought for you?” he asked. “Yes, it’d match your outfit well, I think.”

Lan Zhan reached between his legs to feel around. He was so wet... He liked this underwear, he decided. It was so easy. He positioned himself over Wei Wuxian's cock. "I would look cute," he said as he went to sit down. It was still tight and he paused right as the head reached the muscle inside that didn't want to let it in. He pouted a little; he was so used to being in heat and always loosened up and ready. He had just cum so it shouldn't be _that_ bad. He moved up and down a few times, each time going a little lower until he could finally sit all the way down. He wrinkled his nose; it ached somewhat. Why did Wei Wuxian have to have a big cock?

“There we go,” Wei Wuxian breathed when Lan Zhan finally sat down on his cock. He rubbed up and down his thighs under the skirt, rolling his hips up a little to get a bit of friction while he adjusted to his size. “Are you going to ride me?”

Lan Zhan didn't answer. He just started to move up and down slowly. It ached and he grimaced, but it wasn't entirely a bad thing. He kind of liked it, especially when it was combined with the sparks of pleasure every time he rubbed over his sweet spot. "Make me something," he breathed. "Blindfold me. Tie my hands."

That he could do. Wei Wuxian summoned his magic to make a blindfold. He tied it carefully around Lan Zhan’s eyes with a knot that was tight enough to hold but not enough to be difficult to undo. Then, he summoned another piece of fabric to tie Lan Zhan’s wrists together.

“There,” he said.

It was a little unnerving to be blindfolded. Lan Zhan sat there for a moment and just assessed where he was and how he felt. It was weird, but he liked the contrast to before. He put his bound hands against Wei Wuxian's chest and started moving again, this time a little faster but not going up as far.

Wei Wuxian moaned softly as Lan Zhan began to move, then bit his lip to keep himself quiet as Lan Zhan wanted. He squeezed his hips and helped guide him as he bounced up and down on his lap.

Lan Zhan would have given Wei Wuxian a warning glare for that moan if his eyes hadn't been covered. But he quieted down anyway, so Lan Zhan continued. His mouth fell open as his breathing picked up a little. He had a lot of pent up energy from the day spent in the carriage, so he was fully ready to keep up the pace for a while.

"Touch me," he breathed.

“You feel so good, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian whispered. He moved one of his hand around to dip his hand in the panties and stroke his cock, thumbing that little sensitive spot under the head whenever he could.

Lan Zhan continued that way for a few minutes, only pausing to let his legs rest for a couple seconds at a time. Eventually, he started lifting himself up a little taller and dropping back down. Every few times he would bounce quickly at the bottom and then he went back. He was riding toward the edge but he didn't push it.

“I’m not going to last long,” Wei Wuxian mumbled, bucking his hips up into each thrust, getting as deep as he could inside Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan appreciated the help. He met Wei Wuxian's hips each time, his head tilting back. "Cum in me," he breathed.

That made Wei Wuxian groan. He kept fucking up into him at a steady rhythm before he finally stilled and came with a shaky gasp, spilling into Lan Zhan and his knot expanding against his walls.

Lan Zhan gasped at the same time, his body going stiff. It hurt and pulled a small squeak out of him. It didn't always hurt, even when he wasn't in heat, why did it only happen sometimes? He had learned that it didn't actually do any damage other than making him sore, though, so it wasn't a big deal.

He bent forward and held Wei Wuxian's chin with the tips of his fingers and he sought out his lips. When he found them he relaxed and kissed him a few times before pulling a pillow over to Wei Wuxian's shoulder so he could lay his head there.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath and let the fabric he had conjured for Lan Zhan dissipate so he was free. He wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan, rubbing his back with a soft hum.

Lan Zhan tried not to purr but it was in vain. He was perfectly happy in that moment and nothing could stop the small rumbling. He sat up after a moment and untied the ribbon from his neck and pulled the dress over his head and folded it neatly, then he lay back down and closed his eyes with a sigh. He tried not to think about what the next day would bring.

Wei Wuxian responded to Lan Zhan’s purr with a croon. He carded his fingers through Lan Zhan’s hair, stroking it softly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

They left the inn a little later in the morning. Lan Zhan assured Wei Wuxian that they didn’t have to worry about money, since they were running dangerously low. Lan Zhan didn’t know how to tell him that he was going to see his father, so he just didn’t. He’d figure it out.

There was a festival that day, so everyone was out shopping and celebrating. The main roads were packed with people ready to get the best sales and the front spots to whatever was happening in the streets. Their breakfast consisted of free samples and they mingled with the crowd as Lan Zhan led him to his father’s house. He didn’t even know what was going on, but he knew that the Capitol had a lot of festivals throughout the year.

At some point, he looked back and realized he had lost Wei Wuxian. He came to a stop and people brushed past him. He thanked the heavens that he wasn’t short like many omegas, and he stood on his tip toes to try and see if he could find him. He started to backtrack, and he was relieved for a second when he felt a hand on his waist.

But of course, it wasn’t Wei Wuxian. It was some stranger who looked way too old for him. He wrinkled his nose and said, “Shove that hand up your ass.”

He yanked himself away and continued, faster now. He wanted to call out, but his voice wasn’t very loud and he didn’t think he could yell if he wanted to. They had been walking for a while and there were a couple places where the streets forked into different directions. Wei Wuxian could be anywhere.

Lan Zhan looked behind him and almost had a heart attack when he saw that man following him, a grin on his face. _God dammit, leave me alone!_ Why did alpha men have to be so disgusting? He started running.

Then he heard a distant scream that sounded suspiciously like Wei Wuxian. He had probably noticed Lan Zhan was gone and was looking for him too. _Too far away…_ It sounded like it had been from another street. He glanced behind him again and bolted, shoving people out of the way. He ran down an alley that connected his current street to the one parallel to it, towards where he had heard Wei Wuxian yell.

He heard heavy footsteps behind him approaching fast and he cursed himself for not learning some kind of battle magic. He wanted to set that man’s clothes on fire. The man grabbed his clothes and suddenly he was wrapped in a pair of arms that were nothing like the safety and comfort of Wei Wuxian’s.

“Dammit!” Lan Zhan cursed, suddenly feeling a burst of rage, “Fuck you! Fuck your mother!”

He heard laughing and that’s when he knew there were more of them. His heart was beating out of his chest -- what the hell was happening? He looked around and saw people on either side of the alley, but none of them came to his aid. That hand crept down his body and he turned and bit the nearest piece of flesh he could find. He bit hard enough for his jaw to shiver with the strain, hard enough for those arms to let go of him. He started to bolt but he only ran into someone else. It was another alpha blocking his path.

There were only two of them. That was good. He might be able to handle two. Maybe. He was relying on them being inexperienced fighters. He spit at the one that was blocking him and he turned sideways so he could keep an eye on them both.

“What’s wrong, babydoll?” the uninjured one said. The one that he had bit was holding his arm and he looked mad. He was bigger than the other one.

Lan Zhan took a risk. He took a few steps away from the bigger man and allowed the skinnier one to grab him. He grabbed his arm and jumped in to unbalance him by knocking one foot to the side, then he pushed him back. The man fell to the ground with a shocked grunt.

Lan Zhan would regret his next action pretty soon, but he wasn’t thinking at all. He just saw the little money sack on the ground and he reached for it. The man grabbed his arm as he picked it up, but he managed to yank it away and run. He stuffed the money into his sleeve as he ran. The men shouted obscenities at him and came after him. He realized that stealing from them was a terrible idea and they weren’t going to give up anymore, but now that he had the money he wasn’t going to give it back. They didn’t deserve it. It was his way of making sure their day was a little worse. Maybe he was letting his anger get control of him, but he wasn’t in the mindspace to think about it.

He sailed out into the street where he had heard Wei Wuxian’s voice from. It was _much_ less crowded than the one he had come from. He thought that perhaps people would be on his side if they saw a pretty omega being chased by a couple of knotheads, but said knotheads were shouting ‘thief’ and effectively turning any sympathy away from him.

He heard another yell and he knew it was Wei Wuxian this time. He turned to that direction and kept running, praying to the heavens that the men wouldn’t catch him again. He saw Wei Wuxian about three meters away and felt a wave of relief wash over him.

But then half a second later, another face appeared in his vision, one that was even more welcome and caused him to cry out louder than he had yelled since he was a child.

“Daddy, help me!”


	20. Hua and Hudie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TW:** mention of rape towards the beginning
> 
> Also, I considered having Lan Zhan call Lan Qingheng diedi or a-die, but I wanted it to have a sort of whiny, cutesy connotation to it. Rather than use a word that I don't know the original context to, I chose to just translate it to "Daddy."

The moment Lan Zhan had slipped out of his grasp, Wei Wuxian’s heart raced. He should have been more careful, should have insisted that he hold onto him like he did the night before. This was all his fault – what if something happened to him? He ran in every direction he could think of, yelling Lan Zhan’s name as he did.

When he saw a glimpse of Lan Zhan running towards him, his shoulders slumped. Thank the Gods he was safe. He continued to run towards him but was surprised to see him turn and then bolt into the arms of a different man. What…?

Lan Qingheng was a very tall, intimidating man. He was at least six inches taller than Lan Zhan and had somewhat broad shoulders. His resting expression was just as bitter than Lan Zhan’s and made most people scared before they actually talked to him. He didn’t wear white or the forehead ribbon anymore, not since he left the college about ten years before. Today he wore black and blue.

Lan Zhan sailed into him, arms wrapped around him and tears already in his eyes. “Daddy, help me!”

Wei Wuxian couldn’t hear what they were saying from here. Who was that? And why was he touching his omega? A growl bubbled in Wei Wuxian’s throat as he approached, his fists clenched tight. As soon as he was close enough, he could smell that the mysterious man was an alpha. Wei Wuxian bristled, his shoulders squared and teeth gritted. But two other alphas had beat him there before he could approach.

One of the men behind Lan Zhan shouted, “That little bi-- I mean, he stole from me! Took my money!”

“Did he now?” Lan Qingheng said, his tone calm and cool. People always expected him to have a monotonous voice, but he was actually quite melodic in speech, as opposed to Lan Zhan. “Lan Zhan? Is that true?”

Lan Zhan didn’t answer. He didn’t need to, not right then at least. “He did! He shoved it in his clothes!”

There was his chance. Lan Zhan turned his head and cried pathetically, “You just want to undress me like you tried to in that alley!” They hadn’t really tried to, but he was sure they would have if he had given them the chance.

Lan Qingheng sighed heavily. “Lan Zh-- I am _so_ sorry. This is not the first time my son has done this. Lan Zhan, give it back.”

Lan Zhan knew he was playing some kind of game, so he played along and shook his head frantically.

Lan Qingheng sighed again. “I’m sorry. He’s being difficult. Here. Let me reimburse you. How much did he take from you?”

“Twenty pieces!” the man yelled.

Lan Zhan wanted to call bullshit, there was less than that, but he held his tongue.

Lan Qingheng opened his bag and was quiet for a moment, then he said. “I apologize, I only have nine pieces. Here, take this too.”

Lan Zhan watched while he pulled a vial out of his bag along with some coins. That most definitely had some kind of poison in it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a hangover reliever. I was going to use it myself for the celebrations tonight, but I can always make more. I hope it will make up for the trouble my son has caused.”

The men didn’t say anything else, so they must have taken it.

“Come down to the shop if you would like more! The name is on the vial!” Lan Qingheng called after them. Then he paused and said to someone else, "Did he steal from you too?"

Lan Zhan finally detached himself from his father and looked at who he was talking to.

It was Wei Wuxian!

“No,” Wei Wuxian replied, his words laced with a growl. His eyes darted from Lan Zhan to the mysterious alpha, before settling back on Lan Zhan. “Lan Zhan, who is this?”

Lan Qingheng's eyebrows raised in confusion. Instead of answering Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan looked up at his father and said, "Daddy, this is Wei Wuxian. He brought me here."

Lan Qingheng nodded slowly, his brows still upturned. "Ah," was all he said. Lan Zhan refused to make eye contact with Wei Wuxian. _Don't growl at my father again please,_ he wanted to say.

At that, Wei Wuxian dropped his hostile scent but was still on guard. Lan Zhan had referred to this man as his dad. He remembered what Lan Xichen had told him about this man and he hadn’t liked a word of it. Did Lan Zhan know he would be here?

“Oh,” he said. “Sorry for uh… my rudeness. You might understand that I get a little aggressive when I see Lan Zhan with an alpha I don’t recognise. You’re his father…?”

"I am," Lan Qingheng said. He was quiet for a short moment, then he said, "Lan Qingheng."

Lan Zhan was sure he wanted to comment on Wei Wuxian's possessive choice of words; he himself didn't know what to think about it. Lan Qingheng looked down at Lan Zhan, and he could feel the questions and judgement radiating off of him.

"They attacked me,” he said.

Lan Qingheng's expression dropped and he nodded once. "Did you really steal from them?"

Lan Zhan looked down in shame.

"Lan Zhan..." Lan Qingheng's voice was full of disappointment. "That was wrong."

"I know," Lan Zhan said. "I wasn't thinking. I didn't want to give it back."

"I understand." Lan Qingheng sighed. "Well, it's almost lunch time. Let's go eat. And... I suppose your friend can come too."

“Thank you,” Wei Wuxian said with a polite bow of his head. This whole situation unnerved him. It wasn’t like Lan Zhan knew that his brother had told him about their father and he wasn’t about to share that information now. All he could was observe and if anything happened out of turn, he would step in.

Lan Zhan was also unnerved. He rubbed his arms nervously and shot Wei Wuxian anxious looks. He had just run for his life a few minutes earlier and almost experienced something unthinkable, so it was natural that he was wound up tight and unable to stop shaking. He wanted to go be held by Wei Wuxian, but he wasn’t about to do that right then, so he held onto his father’s arm instead for comfort.

“Are you alright?” Lan Qingheng asked.

“No,” Lan Zhan said.

“We’ll get some dessert after lunch,” Lan Qingheng replied.

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said. A minute or two later, Lan Zhan decided to risk it and went over to walk by Wei Wuxian. His father glanced at him but paid it no mind. There was no telling what he was thinking, though.

Wei Wuxian didn’t feel like he could be himself while Lan Qingheng was there. He wanted to wrap his arm around Lan Zhan, wanted to kiss his cheek and rub his back since he said he wasn’t okay. But there was no use making enemies right now, even if there was no doubt that Lan Qingheng could probably smell him on Lan Zhan, or Lan Zhan on him.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried,” he said softy to Lan Zhan, walking close enough to him that their arms and fingers occasionally brushed.

Lan Zhan was too wound up to care. He grabbed Wei Wuxian’s upper arm and walked close to him. “They probably would have raped me right there in the street if I didn’t get away,” he said, his voice weak and shaky.

He just needed to say it out loud and get it off his chest. Then he could move on. “No one helped me.”

Wei Wuxian’s heart ached as he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his temple, since Lan Zhan had made the first move. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I should have never let you out of my sight for a second. If something happened to you, I… I would blame myself for the rest of my life. This world is so cruel in many ways. If you see those assholes again and want me to slit their throats, I will.”

Those words comforted Lan Zhan. He felt tears wet his eyes but he blinked them away. "I think Daddy poisoned them," he said. "But if I see them again I might take you up on that."

"Stay by my side, okay? Hold onto me if you want, like you are now. I'm here," Wei Wuxian continued. He knew that any sane person would need time to cool down from such an event, Lan Zhan was no exception. He just wanted to make sure that he felt safe with him.

Lan Zhan nodded. He usually wouldn’t want to act like this in public, and _especially_ in front of his father, but he really was shaken up. Surely his father would understand.

A few minutes later, he was feeling a bit more level-headed. He let go of Wei Wuxian’s arm but held onto his sleeve still. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as it was on the other street, but he was paranoid now.

Then the sound of a crying baby caught his attention. There was a woman sitting between two buildings, bouncing a bundle in her arms. She looked deathly skinny, and her clothes were barely rags. The heavens could only imagine what would happen to this woman if something awful had almost happened to Lan Zhan.

He turned to his father. “Daddy, wait a minute,” he said. Lan Qingheng paused and Lan Zhan pulled Wei Wuxian with him over to the woman. “Is your baby sick?” he asked her.

She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. She didn’t look scared of _him,_ just scared in general. She was an alpha woman, he noticed by her scent. “She probably is,” she said, her voice raspy, “I haven’t been able to feed her in days.”

Lan Zhan felt a sense of purpose. He was still ashamed of himself for having stolen, and this was his chance to calm his conscience. He knelt down by her and said, “I’m a healer from Gusu University. May I hold your baby? I promise I won’t do anything bad. I can maybe heal her.”

The woman was quiet for a few seconds, but ultimately handed her baby over to him. “She’s all that I have,” she said softly.

Lan Zhan nodded and carefully took the bundle in his arms. The baby was still crying. She looked malnourished. Hiding her from the street, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out the bag of money he had stolen. He tucked it into her blanket. The woman gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. Lan Zhan glanced at Wei Wuxian, then said to her, “I got cornered by some men earlier. They were going to do something terrible. I stole their money. You can have it.”

Wei Wuxian could sense the concern in the alpha woman’s scent when Lan Zhan spoke. “Those men won’t be hurting anyone, don’t worry. You can take the money, it’s okay,” he said.

Then, his gaze shifted over to Lan Zhan. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of him with the baby in his arms. It was perfect, like this was the way that things were meant to be. Just like when he had seen Lan Zhan with the baby bunnies, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but let a small croon slip out, but he quickly silenced himself. What would Lan Zhan be like as a parent? The two of them would make very cute children, he was sure. The image of Lan Zhan round with his child flickered through his mind, that healthy pregnant glow making him even more beautiful than he was.

He took a deep breath. He couldn’t be thinking like this. After all, he had promised Lan Xichen that he wouldn’t impregnate Lan Zhan and he was sure that was something Lan Zhan didn’t want. At least, for now.

Lan Zhan looked down at the baby and bounced her a little. “What’s her name?” he asked.

“I call her Hudie,” the woman said.

Lan Zhan nodded. “And what is your name?”

The woman looked away and frowned. “I don’t have one anymore.”

Oh. Lan Zhan blinked a few times, feeling awkward. How did he refer to someone who didn’t have a name? He looked down at the crying baby. “Can I call you Hua?” he asked. Butterflies must have their flowers.

The woman looked back at him for a few seconds, then she nodded.

Lan Zhan looked behind him at his father, who walked over to him. “Can I have a pain reliever?” he asked.

Lan Qingheng rooted through his bag. He always brought all sorts of potions with him places. He handed Lan Zhan a small vial.

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said and took the cork off the vial. He carefully put it against Hudie’s lips until a little drop came out. As soon as the baby tasted the potion, her crying stopped and she blinked at the vial. Then her eyes went wide and she her tiny hands started grabbing for it. Lan Zhan beamed and laughed softly at the silly face and he slowly fed her the rest of it.

“Is it yummy?” he asked.

“She hasn’t stopped crying in days,” Hua said.

Lan Zhan put the vial away and placed his hand on her belly and sent his healing magic through. She had some kind of irritation along the skin of her bottom and he healed that. Hudie let out a surprised giggle, her wide brown eyes locked on him. Lan Zhan almost died on the spot. He had held babies before, but he didn’t get to do it often.

He didn’t want to let go of her, but he knew it was rude to keep holding onto her. He stood up and stepped toward his father and whispered to him, “Can we get this woman some food and rags? I’ll pay you back.”

Lan Qingheng nodded and handed him some money. Lan Zhan thanked him and turned back to Hua. “Will you come with me? We will get you something to eat.”

Hua looked completely bewildered. She scrambled to her feet. “All this because you feel guilty about stealing from some losers? I won’t say no.”

Wei Wuxian was at a loss for words. Seeing Lan Zhan with the baby was almost too much for him and his kindness towards the woman was something he had never seen completely in Lan Zhan. He was always go guarded, so cold, especially towards alphas. To see him behave so sweet, so kind, was an unexpected warm side to him. Was it possible to fall in love with someone on the spot like that?

Lan Zhan bounced Hudie in his arms while they walked toward the food stalls. She was filthy and stunk like no other, and he wanted to give her a bath and wrap her in soft, fresh blankets and rags. Maybe even put some tiny clothes on her. He had only held this baby for a few minutes and he was attached. He would be thinking about her for a while.

They stopped at a food stall and Lan Zhan allowed Hua to pick something she wanted to eat. He was glad that she picked something large with a lot of meat in it. She needed the nutrients. Lan Zhan paid the vendor and they sat down at some outside tables.

Lan Zhan sat next to Wei Wuxian and tilted Hudie toward him to show her to him. “Look,” he said. She was as happy as a peach now, with her rashes and tummy aches gone. She looked at everything around her with wide, curious eyes.

“She’s cute, isn’t she?” Wei Wuxian said fondly as he looked down into Lan Zhan’s arms at Hudie. She really was adorable but it was made extra special by the way Lan Zhan seemed to enjoy holding her. He pulled some funny faces at Hudie, making her giggle in Lan Zhan’s arms, then gently booped her on the nose.

Truly, a baby’s laugh was the sweetest thing Lan Zhan could hear. He almost felt like crying.

“I am going to finish my shopping,” Lan Qingheng said. “I’ll be around here. Find me when you’re done.”

Lan Zhan nodded and thanked him again, then turned back to the baby. Hua seemed to be trying not to eat too fast. She was a lot perkier now. “You like babies?” she asked Lan Zhan.

He nodded. He _loved_ babies. He wasn’t as fond of little children, but babies made his heart sing. It was why he loved animals so much.

“Got any of your own?” Hua asked, looking between Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan didn’t notice the glance since he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Hudie.

“No,” Lan Zhan said. “I wouldn’t be a good mother.”

Hua snorted. “You’re fucking with me,” she said. “Sitting there bouncing my child, she’s laughing for the first time in nine days, you lookin like you’re glowing. Not a good mother my ass.” Lan Zhan finally glanced up at her. He didn’t know how to respond to that. He was good with babies, sure, but raising children was a whole different story.

“I’ve never seen this side of you,” Wei Wuxian said, tearing his eyes away from Hudie to look up at Lan Zhan. “I think she’s right you know. If you ever wanted to have kids, you’d make a good parent.”

Lan Zhan looked up at him hesitantly. Part of him wanted to believe it, but he knew deep in his heart that they were wrong. They didn’t _know_ him. No one did.

“You’re so young,” Hua said, waving her chopsticks at him. “You’ve got years. Don’t put yourself down! Look. People tell me all the time I’m not cut out for motherhood! I tell them well if that’s true then I’ll be the best damn father in the world. People like you and me, they tell us we can’t parent like omega women or alpha men. They’re dead wrong. I’ll even say we’re better than them. We’re a mom and a dad combined.”

Hudie reached for his hair. Lan Zhan looked at Hua for a moment, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t know how she could be so confident about it. He asked Wei Wuxian, “Will you make Qiqi for her?”

Wei Wuxian nodded eagerly. He focused his magic to make Qiqi, the little white bunny plushie with the bell around its neck that Lan Zhan had so fondly cradled before. He carefully placed Qiqi in Hudie’s grabby hands, watching her eyes light up with amusement.

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but smile as Hudie shook the bunny and laughed when the bell rang. “Do you have rags for her?” he asked Hua.

She nodded. “I have two,” she said. “I got them from the omega house. They take in homeless omegas, so I can’t stay there but they give me things for Hudie every now and then if I do some work for them.”

Two wasn’t nearly enough rags for an infant. It was no wonder that Hudie’s backside was irritated. “I have some money left over,” he said. “We can go get her some more.”

Hua beamed. “You came down from the heavens, didn’t you?” she asked.

“He did, didn’t he?” Wei Wuxian said fondly. He wanted to wrap his arms around him and kiss him, his thoughts full of what it might be like if Hudie was their own child. Would there ever be a day when such a thing could be a reality?

“How long have you been married?” Hua asked.

Lan Zhan blinked and looked up at her, then at Wei Wuxian. Married? Oh... he supposed it did seem that way. Sort of. “We are not,” he said.

Hua raised her eyebrows. “My mistake,” she said. “You two look so cute together. If you don’t mind me saying.”

Lan Zhan’s ears reddened.

Wei Wuxian’s cheeks were a little pink as well and he laughed nervously. Married, huh? He couldn’t get Lan Zhan to accept his courtship, never mind marriage. “Thank you. It isn’t for lack of trying, believe me,” Wei Wuxian said with a small huff.

“Oh, I see,” Hua said with a laugh.

“I don’t want to get married,” Lan Zhan admitted after a short moment.

Hua nodded as she ate some more of her food. “You know what? More power to you. Marriage is a big commitment. So many omegas marry when they’re not ready. And you’re young, you have your whole life. Fuck people who say you can’t marry when you’re old. No need to force it.”

That sounded a lot like what his father said. Lan Zhan nodded and jingled the bell on Qiqi’s ribbon for Hudie.

Wei Wuxian opened his mouth to comment but decided, for once, it was better to say nothing at all. He didn’t want to put Lan Zhan in an awkward position in front of this woman, not when they had been doing so well together lately. Instead, he focused his attention on Hudie.

Lan Zhan played with Hudie until Hua was finished eating, then they walked over to a store that sold things for babies and children. Lan Zhan liked to go into these stores and look around when he and Su Ming went to the city. He went over to the spot where they had baby rags and he told Hua how much money he had left so she could buy whatever she wanted for Hudie. She picked out some good quality rags and a new blanket.

Lan Zhan looked mournfully at the baby clothes while they went to the counter. Hudie babbled and talked nonsense at him and he spoke back to her quietly. It was so cute, he couldn’t believe how much personality she had. She pointed at Wei Wuxian and said something in a definitive tone. Lan Zhan smiled and wondered what she was trying to say.

“That’s Wei Wuxian,” he said.

“I don’t think she can say Wei Wuxian,” Wei Wuxian said with a laugh. He hovered over Hudie with a smile and pointed at him. “Maybe it’s funny. Or handsome? I am very handsome, after all.”

Hudie said something that sounded vaguely like the word ‘handsome,’ if you squinted. Lan Zhan beamed, unable to handle how cute that was. She was trying to copy him. “I want a baby,” he mumbled and kissed her head.

He didn’t _really_ want a baby. Not for himself. He wanted to take care of someone else’s baby, though.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Hua said as she returned with her new items.

“Just take care of her,” Lan Zhan said. “That’s enough.”

He hesitated, not wanting to give Hudie up. He briefly fantasized about offering to raise her in his wealthy home in Gusu, but he knew he couldn’t. But could he?

...No, this wasn’t his baby. He didn’t _want_ a baby, he reminded himself. She would grow up and become a _child._ He hesitated some more but very reluctantly handed Hudie back to her mother.

“She’ll definitely grow up to be a smart little girl,” Wei Wuxian said, watching as Lan Zhan handed Hudie over. “You’re a good mother, Hua. I’m sure Lan Zhan will agree that it’s… admirable what you do for your daughter. I’m really glad we could help.”

Hua beamed and teared up a little. “The world needs more people like you,” she said. “If there’s anything I can do for you, please find me. Just ask the vendors where the wretched alpha mother is.”

Lan Zhan nodded. He wanted to kiss Hudie goodbye, but he didn’t. “I hope you can stay safe,” he said.

“I’ve done it this long,” Hua said.

Lan Zhan watched while she walked away, back towards the spot where they had found her. Maybe if he lived here he could babysit...

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath once she was gone. He turned to look at Lan Zhan. “I hope she’ll be okay,” he said. Then, he smiled. “It was really good what you did, you know. You didn’t have to give her so much but you did. And don’t think I didn’t see the way you looked at her little girl. I never took you for someone who liked babies. Lan Zhan, you are… an incredibly good person. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Lan Zhan turned unsure eyes to Wei Wuxian. He only did it because he felt bad. If he hadn’t stolen from those men earlier, he might have just walked by... Well, he might have still healed the baby and given the woman food. He’d done that before.

“I like babies,” Lan Zhan said, not wanting to focus on who he was as a person anymore.

“Hmm, yeah, I noticed,” Wei Wuxian said. He chuckled and linked arms with Lan Zhan as he walked out of the store. “It was really cute. I thought I was going to have a heart attack seeing you smiling at that little girl.”

Lan Zhan remembered the way she had giggled and laughed and played with Qiqi. Even when the toy disappeared she hadn’t cried. She was a good baby.

He looked around. His father wasn’t to be seen, but he had said that he would be around. Lan Zhan started walking down the street to look into the shops to see if he could find him. He felt awkward about holding Wei Wuxian’s arm like that, but after his experience earlier he wasn’t so eager to pull away.

“Do you think you’ll ever have children of your own?” Wei Wuxian asked curiously. “I mean, obviously not any time soon but… in the future. You’d be a good parent.”

That was a good question. Lan Zhan could only half think on it while he looked for his father. “I don’t know,” he said. “I would rather take care of Gege’s baby for him.”

“Is there no one Lan Xichen is courting right now? Most alphas his age are wrapped up in that stuff but I haven’t seen him with anyone,” Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said. “He will eventually.”

Lan Xichen was normal, after all. He was nice and caring and he could take care of a wife and child no problem. He probably didn’t want to pursue any students because of Lan Qingheng’s legacy, but he also left campus a lot to go on errands for professors so there was no telling when he would meet someone.

“What if he decides he doesn’t want children?” Wei Wuxian continued to inquire. He knew that he, himself, definitely wanted children at some point.

Lan Zhan frowned. He didn’t like to think about that. If Lan Xichen didn’t have children, then the responsibility would fall on him. “He won’t,” he said. Lan Xichen wouldn’t make him have kids, surely. “Help me look for my father,” he said, wanting to steer the conversation away.

“I’m looking, I’m looking,” Wei Wuxian said. He was, haphazardly at least. His mind was consumed by thoughts of what his children might look like. Right now, he couldn’t imagine having children with anyone other than Lan Zhan.

They eventually found Lan Qingheng leaving a store. He waited patiently for them to get to him. Lan Zhan pulled away from Wei Wuxian as he walked over.

“Did it go well?” Lan Qingheng asked. Lan Zhan nodded, and he patted his back affectionately. “You did a good deed. Let’s go eat now, hm?”

As they continued walking down the street, Lan Qingheng asked Wei Wuxian, “Are you a student at the university?”

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly when he realised he’d been asked a question. “Yes sir! I’m studying conjuration, that’s my speciality. I’m still in my first year.”

Lan Qingheng hummed. “Conjuration is a tough field,” he said. “Good research opportunities. You’ll make money in... unconventional ways. Do you have a plan after graduation?”

“I’d like to travel first, take a few years just to explore the world and doing odd jobs to help people here and there, you know?” Wei Wuxian said. He hadn’t given the far future much thought. “Conjuration opens so many ways to help people. I can’t sit and be idle, I like to be active and with people.”

Lan Qingheng nodded. “Don’t be surprised if you find yourself in dungeons and fighting undead,” he said. “Or raising them.”

“Daddy,” Lan Zhan scolded. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t go into necromancy. That was horrendous.

Wei Wuxian only laughed. “I’m well aware my talents will often be used for battle. No one will stand a chance, alive or not,” he said. “I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a rule-breaker, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’d do anything outlandish without good reason.”

Lan Qingheng turned an unreadable expression on Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan really wanted to know what he was thinking.

He stopped walking when they got to a large building. People going in and coming out were dressed in expensive clothes. Lan Qingheng approached the person waiting outside and said, “Is there room for three?”

Lan Zhan peeked inside. It was one of the most expensive places to eat in the Capitol. He had been there four or five times in his life. His father liked to take him anytime he came to visit. None of them were dressed fancy enough — especially not Wei Wuxian — but that wouldn’t bar them entry. Lan Qingheng was known around the city for being a wealthy man. Lan Zhan walked beside Wei Wuxian as they entered.

Wei Wuxian’s jaw was on the floor as he walked inside. The Jiangs were rich, of course, but things like family meals out were non-existent. Even if they were, Wei Wuxian was convinced that they would make him pay for his own meals anyway. This meant that he’d never set foot in a place this expensive and he could tell that the people around him knew that from his expression and his clothes.

“Wow,” he whispered.

Even though they didn’t keep them from entering, the people seating them clearly wanted them away from the more fancy patrons. They were seated in a corner in the back. Lan Zhan took the corner seat like he always did and Lan Qingheng took the seat next to him, like he always did. It often looked weird when they ate together, sitting on the same side of the table, but no one ever commented. They just both liked having their backs to the wall. At least this time Wei Wuxian would sit on the other side and even it out a little. The server left them with menus and then left.

“Order whatever you like,” Lan Qingheng told Wei Wuxian. “I’ll pay.”

“Thank you for your generosity,” Wei Wuxian said with a small bow of his head. He picked up the menu in front of him and couldn’t help but gawk a little at the prices of some of the meals. Gods, this place was expensive. Eventually, he picked out a spicy meal he thought he would enjoy and set down the menu.

“Daddy,” Lan Zhan said after he had picked out what he wanted to eat.

“Bunny rabbit,” Lan Qingheng replied, still looking through the menu.

“I came here because I want to go to the gardens,” Lan Zhan said. “I want to get seeds for my research.”

“Research?”

Lan Zhan shifted in his seat, a little excited to tell his father about what he had been doing. “I can change the color of flowers. And I can make fruits taste better. I have already used everything in Gusu, and I want some different plants to work with. I am thinking about selling my services to people who sell flowers.”

Lan Qingheng looked at him, his eyebrows raised. “That’s impressive,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that before. You might be able to make a living with that.”

“You should see it. It really is something to behold,” Wei Wuxian said, eagerly encouraging Lan Zhan. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. I thought it was amazing that he could make the fruit grow in the greenhouse on campus but then I added my magic in too and it was like the whole world opened up. Ever since then, Lan Zhan has been making amazing strides in his magic.”

Lan Zhan felt proud of himself and he looked down at his lap shyly. Lan Qingheng said, “Congratulations. We can go to the gardens today. I’d like to see some of your work.”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Taste is more difficult to work with but I think I can do it. Maybe one day I can sell blue apples that taste like oranges.”

Lan Qingheng chuckled. “You’ll be richer than me, bunny rabbit.”

Wei Wuxian was beaming at Lan Zhan. He really was proud of him and his how well his magic had come on. “He’ll definitely wow you,” he said to Lan Qingheng. “He’s so talented.”

Lan Zhan babbled for the rest of lunch about his magic. Lan Qingheng had always been interested in life magic, so he had plenty of questions. Lan Zhan only paused to enjoy the lavish meal he got. He also ordered dessert afterwards, and spent a while savoring the delicious chocolate and strawberry-cream cake. He had to stop himself from moaning in bliss — he _never_ got to eat chocolate, not except for when his father took him to expensive places like this. He almost cried it tasted so good. It made his horrible experiences earlier that day completely wash away from his mind. He decided that one day he was going to grow a fruit that tasted like chocolate and strawberry-cream cake. That would be his life’s mission.

Wei Wuxian also enjoyed his meal. It was high quality stuff and he was grateful for the array of flavours and spices that this place seemed to offer. He thanked Lan Qingheng profusely for the opportunity.

After they left, Lan Zhan led Wei Wuxian and his father toward the center of the city where the gardens lay. It was a large place with almost every kind of plant known to man. They also had seeds available for purchase, which was why Lan Zhan wanted to go. Most people were out celebrating in the streets, so thankfully the place wasn’t too crowded. Lan Zhan had been there before, but he had never really looked too hard at everything. He held Wei Wuxian’s sleeve as he walked in, Lan Qingheng trailing behind them.

The plants were all organized based on location. Gusu’s plants were in one corner, and there weren’t a whole lot of them compared to some of the other places. It was a cold climate up there. Lan Zhan went in the opposite direction, down toward where the warmer climate plants would be.

“What plants should I get?” he asked idly as he looked around.

“You probably know more about plants than me. Is there something here that would be a bit of a challenge?” Wei Wuxian asked, looking around. “Oh, you should come to Yunmeng with me sometime, in the summer. Lotus flowers are native to the area and they’re really pretty on the rivers. You could do some cool things with them, I bet.”

"Lotus..." Lan Zhan hummed and sped up a little.

The Yunmeng section was down towards the end of the building. They had to go through a door to get there, since they kept the air warmer and more humid in that spot. Lan Zhan had never worked with water plants before. The idea seemed strange to him. He didn't even know if they would grow in the north. He went to the little pond they had and pointed at the pink flowers with giant green leaves. "Is that it?" he asked.

Wei Wuxian nodded. “Yeah, that’s them. They’re really pretty floating down the river near Lotus Pier, that’s where I live when I’m not in Gusu. I don’t know how well they’d survive in all the cold weather on campus.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He went over to them. He might be able to grow one... maybe. He went ahead and asked a gardener for a seed packet anyway. He could always try.

He ended up having to get another basket for his packets. He had at least eighty by the time he was satisfied. His father encouraged him to get as many as he wanted, and even went out of his way to place some in the basket for him. Lan Zhan was the most excited he had ever been in his _life._ He would need _so_ many more pots. He would have to ask his father for some money to buy more when he got back to campus.

“I have so many,” he whispered as he put each packet in his bag while his father paid. His bag was so full now with his new outfit and book plus all of these seed packets.

“You have your work cut out for you now,” Wei Wuxian teased. “Will you even have time for me with so many plants?”

"Maybe if you help me grow them I'll squeeze some time in," Lan Zhan replied in a quiet voice. He buckled his bag carefully and put it back on his back.

“Of course. If you ever want my help or my magic, all you have to do is say the word,” Wei Wuxian replied with a big smile.

Lan Zhan looked at him and then at his lips. He was about to tilt his head up and kiss him, but he realized at the last second where he was. He best save that for later.

"Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Lan Qingheng asked.

"Can we go to the stuffed animal store?" Lan Zhan asked, because surely he hadn't drained enough of his father's wallet yet.

Lan Qingheng chuckled. "We sure can," he said.

Lan Zhan grabbed Wei Wuxian's sleeve again as they followed Lan Qingheng out of the gardens.

Wei Wuxian pouted a little. He had noticed Lan Zhan looking at his lips and he had been hoping he _would_ kiss him, but he was still happy to be dragged along by his sleeve. “Hudie got you feeling maternal, huh?” he teased.

Lan Zhan didn't respond to that. He supposed that was true. He thought about Hudie and whether she was still feeling well. Hopefully that big meal would help Hua make some milk for her soon. "I want to..." Lan Zhan began, then he paused and sighed. "I want to ask Hua to come to Gusu. There is a homeless shelter there that accepts alphas."

“Then why don’t you?” Wei Wuxian asked. “She might still be there and she told you how to find her if not. I think she’d really appreciate it and ah, I see. You want to babysit Hudie some more don’t you? You want to be able to hold her in the carriage back to Gusu.”

"I do," Lan Zhan lamented. Wei Wuxian saw right through him. Hudie was such a good baby. Lan Zhan could carry her around the greenhouse during the day and teach her how to say the plant names. Those long hours back to campus would be much better with a baby.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t hold himself back any longer. He leaned over and planted a big kiss on Lan Zhan’s cheek. “I really like this side of you,” he cooed. “It’s so sweet. I’m sure Hua would love your help.”

Lan Qingheng was walking ahead of them a few paces, so Lan Zhan felt safe to lean up a bit and kiss Wei Wuxian properly. It was the first time he had done something like that in public, but he didn't care right then. It had been a really intense day. He would probably feel weird about it later.

Wei Wuxian eagerly cupped Lan Zhan’s cheek and returned the kiss. He had been itching to kiss him for most of the day, especially since his dad turned up, and he made a satisfied purr when they parted. “You watch yourself. I could eat you up where you stand,” Wei Wuxian mumbled, rubbing his thumb over Lan Zhan’s cheekbone.

Slowing to a stop, Lan Zhan couldn't recall if he had ever heard Wei Wuxian purring before. Alphas didn't _purr_ as far as he knew... that _was_ a purr, right? He didn't smell the usual croon scent, and it sounded a little faster and higher pitched than his croon. It had to be. He decided that he liked it.

"You'll have to wait," he said, though he gave Wei Wuxian another quick kiss and hurried to catch up to his father, still gripping Wei Wuxian's sleeve.

Wei Wuxian let himself be pulled along, watching Lan Zhan like a lovesick puppy. Not many things or people had made him purr in his life. It only ever slipped out when he _really_ happy or content. Lan Zhan made him feel some sort of way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Chinese names have two syllables (like you always say "Lan Zhan" instead of just "Zhan") but Hua did not have a last name at this point and I wasn't really sure how to approach this since I didn't know how to google this kind of situation. If any people reading this know Chinese and have suggestions for how to make it better I'd be happy to hear them!


	21. Removing the Hands Over His Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lan Zhan realizes. And so does Wei Wuxian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TW:** brief discussion/thoughts about the attempted sexual assault

Lan Zhan got himself an infant-sized stuffed animal (fruit?) in the shape of a watermelon. Its silk body was stained to match the pattern of a watermelon and there was a cute face stitched onto one side. He loved to run his hands over it and hugged it all the way back to his father’s house.

Lan Qingheng made dinner for them and watched with intense fascination as Lan Zhan demonstrated his abilities on one of his houseplants. Lan Zhan was happy to see that his father didn’t seem to mind Wei Wuxian that much. He seemed wary about him, but he kept his thoughts to himself. At least, until later that night.

Lan Qingheng had waited until Wei Wuxian went to the room he’d given him and then he made his way to Lan Zhan’s room. When Lan Zhan heard the knock, he slid the door open and let him in. He had been expecting it to be Wei Wuxian, and his father’s presence made him nervous.

He went to huddle on the bed and held his watermelon while Lan Qingheng sat at the edge of the bed. Lan Qingheng asked him about the family and how things were at the college for a few minutes before he got to the point Lan Zhan was sure he had come here to talk about.

“So how long have you been seeing Wei Wuxian?”

Lan Zhan shifted uncomfortably and looked away. “I’m not…”

“Is that why you were holding onto him like a baby monkey today?” Lan Qingheng sounded amused.

Lan Zhan sighed. “Two alphas tried to rape me, Daddy,” he said softly.

Lan Qingheng was quiet for a moment. “Well, hopefully they took the hangover reliever I gave them. They’ll be pretty miserable for a week or two.”

Lan Zhan squeezed the watermelon. “Early this semester these alpha students were being rude to me,” he said. “Wei Wuxian fought them and then he walked with me through the dorms so I could see Gege. I feel safe with him.”

It was quiet in the room for a few long, heavy seconds. “So when did he claim you?” Lan Qingheng asked.

Lan Zhan stiffened and looked at his father with wide eyes. The claim mark burned on his neck. How did he…? “You keep your scent hidden very well,” Lan Qingheng said, “but not when you’re terrified for your life.”

Wei Wuxian felt restless in the spare room. He slept with Lan Zhan many nights and to be apart from him, especially now, felt a little odd. Being as quiet as he could, he padded out from the bed and decided he would head to the kitchen to get a cup of water. However, he didn’t get very far before he heard Lan Zhan and Lan Qingheng talking. He knew it was rude to eavesdrop but he heard a mumbling of his name. Swallowing roughly, Wei Wuxian crept closer to the door and listened in.

The heaviness in the room intensified by hundreds. Lan Zhan thought he was going to be crushed under it. He felt himself start to panic and he sucked in a breath. His voice broke when he said, “Daddy—“

“I’m not angry,” Lan Qingheng said quickly. “There’s no need to be upset. Either of us. I just want to know what’s going on.”

Lan Zhan rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed. “It’s not like that,” he said. “We’re…”

“Are you sleeping with him?” Lan Qingheng asked.

Lan Zhan nodded and cried into his watermelon. This was so stressful, he didn’t want his father to know, it was _embarrassing._ “I’m sorry,” he squeaked.

Lan Qingheng sighed. There was another heavy moment, then he said, “The only reason I’m concerned is because I don’t want you to get tied to something you aren’t ready for. Do you love him?”

That question stabbed Lan Zhan. It _hurt._ It had no reason to hurt him, but it _did_. He shook his head.

“You don’t love him but you’re sleeping with him?” Lan Qingheng asked, his tone suggesting slight alarm.

“I don’t want to be courted,” Lan Zhan said. That was a much easier topic to deal with.

Lan Qingheng looked at him in disbelief. “Lan Zhan, you’re telling me you’re sleeping with him and you have no intention of having a romantic relationship? Do you not understand how this sounds?”

“I don’t want to get married!” Lan Zhan said, his voice quiet but almost hysterical. “But I’m _lonely,_ Daddy. He makes me feel safe and-- and-- you can’t make me be lonely my whole life?”

Lan Qingheng sighed heavily and put his hand over his eyes. “Are you sure that you don’t love him?” he asked. Lan Zhan didn’t answer, so he continued, “Does he _know_ this?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “I told him I don’t want to be courted,” he said. “Or married. He knows. He’ll find someone else.”

“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, bunny rabbit,” Lan Qingheng said.

It was quiet for a long moment. Lan Zhan sniffed and curled into himself, hugging his watermelon. His jaw ached.

Lan Qingheng shifted on the bed. “I want you to know that marriage isn’t supposed to be how it was for your mother and me,” he said. “It’s not… it _shouldn’t_ be difficult. Or forced. You shouldn’t feel tied down. It should feel like coming home.”

Coming home…

Lan Zhan thought about how safe he felt in Wei Wuxian’s arms. How empty he felt when he slept without him.

“And you don’t need to make that decision anytime soon,” Lan Qingheng continued. “I was going to tell you to wait at _least_ a few years before you marry him, but… if you don’t love him, then I don’t think I want you sleeping with him at all. You’re going to break that man’s heart, bunny rabbit.”

Wei Wuxian wished he hadn’t gotten out of bed. His heart thumped in his chest, the whole world beating down on his ribcage. It was hard to swallow, his throat felt sore and his lips tingled with numbness.

These were things he already knew, of course. Lan Zhan had told him that he didn’t want to be courted, didn’t want to marry or have children. He knew these things and yet… He was a fool for thinking maybe, just maybe, that their intimacy would change something. Hope was for fools.

He turned on his heels and went back into the spare bedroom, sliding the door shut and then crawling under the covers. His breath was shaky, deafening in the silence of the room. He didn’t know how long he could play this game. How would he be able to smile at Lan Zhan, kiss him, touch him… knowing that he didn’t and would never love him back?

The tears were hot down his cheeks. Wei Wuxian quickly rubbed at them as they spilt down but eventually gave up and allowed himself to get it all out. This was enough to tire himself out and he managed to fall asleep.

Lan Zhan, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep at all. The conversation bothered him deeply. Did he love Wei Wuxian? His instinct was to scream _no,_ of course not! The idea appalled him, _scared_ him. He didn’t know what was wrong with what he was doing, but his father seemed so disturbed by it.

Lan Zhan had been very upfront with Wei Wuxian. He had told him that this wouldn’t go anywhere, that he was a rude bitch and Wei Wuxian wouldn’t want to court him, and even if he did Lan Zhan wouldn’t accept it. And Wei Wuxian had accepted that. They were in agreement, weren’t they?

Weren’t they?

Wei Wuxian continued to have sex with him and interact with him, so didn’t that mean that he was fine with this? And at what point did Lan Zhan start _caring?_

_You’re going to break that man’s heart._

Those words shattered something in Lan Zhan. Maybe he wasn’t as heartless as he thought. Maybe he cared about Wei Wuxian. He wouldn’t go so far as to say he _loved_ him. (What did the word ‘love’ _mean_ anyway?) Back when Wei Wuxian had bought him that hair ornament, he had been affronted. He felt uncomfortable. But he had just spent the whole day hanging off of Wei Wuxian’s arm. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he had grown comfortable with Wei Wuxian. It was to the point where being without him felt unnatural.

He felt like home. What was Lan Zhan supposed to do with that?

If he had felt guilty earlier, now he felt wretched. Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have gotten involved with him. Why _did_ he? Was he expecting Lan Zhan to turn around and decide to marry him? Wei Wuxian was probably the kindest man he’d ever met. Did he think Lan Zhan would realize that and change his mind?

Maybe he didn't expect any of that, maybe he just took what Lan Zhan would give him and accepted it. But it was different, back when they had sex with no feelings. When _he_ had sex with no feelings. There had been a boundary between them, a boundary that Lan Zhan himself crossed when he cried in Wei Wuxian's arms and let him spend his heat with him and asked him to take him on a trip. Those all went against his previous words, those actions could have communicated things that he was unaware of at the time. If Wei Wuxian took that as a sign that he had developed feelings, then who could blame him? After all, they both knew that Lan Zhan was aware of Wei Wuxian's romantic interest in him... Even though it wasn't his intention, he could now see how his recent actions, if not representative of him returning his feelings, could be seen as taking advantage of that romantic interest. Maybe that was what his father was disturbed by.

Lan Zhan tried to take his mind off of it. It was so confusing, and he didn't know what was right and what was wrong -- he just knew he felt guilty regardless. He closed his eyes and tried to think about Hudie, but then he remembered unfamiliar hands grabbing him, sliding down his body—

It was too much. Lan Zhan shot up and gasped. He covered his face with his hands and shook. He was _scared._ He was scared of those alphas coming to find him and he was scared of hurting Wei Wuxian. And he was scared of the fact that he was so concerned. What happened to the aloof, uncaring and cold Lan Zhan? The one that had no feelings?

He couldn’t stay there. He got up and grabbed his watermelon and quietly left his room. He went to the room Wei Wuxian was staying in and hovered. He wanted to get in bed with him. He didn’t even want _sex,_ he just wanted to be close. He wanted to feel safe. How fucking pathetic.

He sat down outside his door and curled up. He was close enough, just out there. Wei Wuxian wasn’t too far away. He played through the scene of Wei Wuxian beating up those alphas at the beginning of the semester to comfort himself and fight the memory of those unwelcome hands on his body. He stayed there for a while.

Wei Wuxian was grateful to actually get a little sleep but then he heard movement, the shift of the sliding door, footsteps, and a weight on his bed. He was snotty and gross, the tears drying on his cheeks, definitely not fit to be seen. He rubbed at his face as his eyes opened and then turned around to see who had come in the room.

“Lan Zhan…?” he asked quietly.

Lan Zhan slid under the covers and lay on his back, his watermelon tucked in his arm. He felt a little better with Wei Wuxian next to him, but it also made him sad. He had been thinking while sitting outside the room, and he made a difficult decision that made him feel a little numb. “I don’t think I can have sex again for a while,” he whispered.

Wei Wuxian had never been more grateful for the darkness of the room. He rolled onto his side to face Lan Zhan anyway. “Is it because of… what happened today?” he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded and pulled in a shaky breath. It was a lie. He wanted Wei Wuxian’s hands to erase the memory of those other ones.

“Yes,” he said. “I can’t... sleep. I keep remembering. The bigger one held me and ran his hand down my body.” The words felt as disgusting as the memories did. That much wasn’t a lie. He really couldn’t stop thinking about it. Maybe when he returned home he could put it out of his mind, knowing that it wouldn’t happen again…

Wei Wuxian swallowed roughly and nodded. He couldn’t imagine what Lan Zhan was going through. Even though he was upset, even a little _angry_ at what he had said to his father, he wasn’t about to cast him out in a time like this. “Is there anything I can do…?” he said.

“No,” Lan Zhan said. He just wanted to be close. That was all. Even though it was a double-edged sword and he also felt awful about it. But he would feel awful no matter where he was.

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian replied softly. He turned over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. Would he even be able to fall back asleep with Lan Zhan there?

Lan Zhan wasn’t sure if he would be able to fall asleep but apparently he had because he woke up early in the morning. He felt groggy and confused, and he was going to roll over and crawl on Wei Wuxian but the memory of the night before was like a bag of rocks pulling him to the bottom of a lake.

What was he doing?

He got out of bed and left with his watermelon, slowly sliding the door shut. He went back to his own room and managed to fall asleep again there. He hadn’t slept very well, so he wasn’t going to wake up until the smell of his father’s cooking drifted to his room later in the morning.

For once, Wei Wuxian woke up early. He pushed himself out of bed, cleaned up, and got dressed. The sun was barely rising out of the window but he couldn’t sleep any longer. He and Lan Zhan were going to go back to Gusu University today. That was a relief. He padded down to the kitchen to get himself something to eat and drink.

Despite being away from the college for over a decade, Lan Qingheng still woke at five in the morning on most days. He was looking through his kitchen to see what to make for breakfast when Wei Wuxian came in. “Good morning,” he said quietly. “I think I’ll make breakfast.”

“Oh, that’d be nice, thank you,” Wei Wuxian said with a polite nod. He went and poured himself a cup of water anyway.

Lan Qingheng spent a few minutes deciding what he wanted to make, then he left to get water to boil. When that was done he watched Wei Wuxian with a troubled expression. He went to check on Lan Zhan and found him fast asleep still, so he returned and said in a quiet voice, “Lan Zhan is sleeping, so I will take this chance to tell you that I am aware of your relationship with him.”

Wei Wuxian stiffened a little. He had overheard the conversation last night, but he had to act like he hadn’t. “Oh. What did… he tell you?” he asked.

Lan Qingheng sighed. “I think you should stop sleeping with him,” he said. “And I don’t just say that because I don’t want another alpha in his life. Having sex with someone without feelings involved is dangerous.”

“Why, because I could get him pregnant?” Wei Wuxian replied, bristling a little. “We’ve been very careful, I wouldn’t do that to him without his eager consent. Even if an accident happened, a child is a responsibility. I’m not going to run away from that.”

Lan Qingheng raised his eyebrows. Deflecting, huh? “Well that’s good,” he said. “That isn’t the only danger in it, though. Even grown, responsible adults get their hearts broken.”

Wei Wuxian looked away from him. “I know Lan Zhan doesn’t have feelings for me. He’s made that very clear from day one. You don’t have to worry about him catching them, I don’t think anything has changed. I mean, if I were you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a little mad at me for sleeping with your son. He can clearly do much better than me.”

“Maybe you can do better than him,” Lan Qingheng said very quietly. “You seem like a good man just from the short time I’ve known you. There’s plenty of people that will recognize that.”

“How can you say such a thing about your own son? You have done nothing but spoil and praise him since you saw each other,” Wei Wuxian said.

“I love him dearly,” Lan Qingheng said. “I would give up my life before his. But I won’t join him in ruining someone else’s. I’m disappointed in him, but I believe it is the fault of myself and his mother that he is this way.”

Wei Wuxian sighed and shook his head. “Well, you don’t need to worry. We won’t be sleeping together anymore,” he said.

Lan Qingheng glanced at Wei Wuxian, then he nodded. “Good,” he said. “You probably don’t value my opinion, but regardless, no matter how beautiful and talented and amazing they are, it’s not worth it if they don’t see the same in you.”

“You’re right. I don’t value your opinion at all but… you’re probably right,” Wei Wuxian said. “Thanks for putting up with me while I’ve been here.”

Lan Qingheng just went back to the stove and continued cooking. He didn’t _like_ Wei Wuxian very much at the moment, but he did respect him. He was strong-willed and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. It was almost a shame that Lan Zhan wasn’t going to be with him.

Lan Zhan came out of his room when the food was done cooking. He looked tired and upset, but Lan Qingheng didn’t comment. He had been the same way when he’d left the night before.

He kissed his forehead and gave him more than enough money to get back to Gusu. “I’ll come see you in late June,” he said. “I’ll write your brother and tell him he’s welcome to come as always, so don’t worry about telling him. I can’t wait to see what you accomplish this month.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” Lan Zhan said, hugging him around the middle. It was almost empty in the streets in comparison to the day before. The only people outside were the hungover ones waddling home or those cleaning up the streets after the celebratory night. Lan Zhan felt a similar way to them.

Lan Zhan kept holding onto Wei Wuxian’s sleeve even though he felt even weirder about it. He didn’t want to let go of him until he was safely on the carriage home. They searched around until they found the homeless woman again, she was sitting in the park this time.

“Hua,” Lan Zhan said as they approached.

Hua brightened up as soon as she saw them. Hudie was crying again. “It’s my saving grace,” she said with a smile. “I realized after you left that I never got your names. Even after you gave me such a nice one!”

“I’m Lan Zhan and this is Wei Wuxian,” Lan Zhan said. He was ready to get to the point. “Neither of us live here. We are returning to Gusu today. Would you like to come with us? There is a homeless shelter in Gusu that accepts alphas.”

Hua blinked a few times. “Gusu?” she asked. “It’s so cold up there. I can barely make it through the winters here.”

“The shelters are warm,” Lan Zhan said. “The college supplies everyone with warming potions during the winter months. And… if you would like, I can take care of Hudie on some days.”

Hua looked down at her baby, then back up at the two. “Count me in,” she said. “It’s not like I have any roots here.”

“Lan Zhan’s grown quite attached to your little girl,” Wei Wuxian said with a little chuckle. “But you’ll been taken care of in Gusu, I promise. You’re more than welcome to come back with us.”

“Well if you’re so willing, come and help me change her rags, won’t you?” Hua asked as she stood up. Lan Zhan nodded and they walked over to the little river that flowed through the park. He cast a warming spell on Hudie since the water was cold, and undressed her and washed her in the river while Hua washed out the rags. It wasn’t the cleanest situation, but there weren’t a lot of options.

Hua handed him the soap she had bought when she was done and he washed her down, including her hair and face. She smelled a lot better when she was dressed in clean rags. She cried the whole time, though Hua said she was able to feed her some earlier in the morning. Lan Zhan wished intensely that he could feed her, but for now he just pat her back as they walked to the end of town.

The ride back was a lot better with the baby. Hua and Wei Wuxian talked through most of the trip, and they learned a lot about her. She used to be a cook, but her husband’s family blamed her for his recent death and she couldn’t find work anywhere except a brothel. Then she had a child, and then they didn’t want her either. Lan Zhan hoped that maybe she could go back to being a cook again in Gusu.

When they got back to the city, they took Hua and Hudie to the homeless shelter and made sure that they gave her a place to sleep. The shelter was sponsored by the college, so when the owners saw Lan Zhan they made a point to show him that Hua would get an actual bed to sleep in. It wasn’t a pleasant place at all, but it was better than sleeping in alleys.

Lan Zhan felt safer once he entered the campus gates. The difference between the alphas at the school and the alphas outside was that the students faced severe consequences if they even _suggested_ that they’d violate an omega. And even in Gusu, he was well-known by his clothing in the city. He was safer there than in the Capitol, at least. Lan Zhan just wanted to curl up in his nest for a while. He could start sorting through his new seeds the day after.

“I had fun going to the Capitol with you,” Wei Wuxian said when they arrived back on campus. He pointedly didn’t look at Lan Zhan but continued to speak to him. “I’m going to take a few days to relax, I guess. All that travelling is tiring haha… I’ll… see you around? I can come help with the plants, if you want me to…”

“That would be nice,” Lan Zhan said. He didn’t know what this meant for their relationship. It had mostly been just sex, anyway. He didn’t want to never see Wei Wuxian again, though.

“Okay, sounds like a plan,” Wei Wuxian said with a quick nod. “See you later, Lan Zhan.” He gave him a small wave before he hurried in the direction of the alpha dormitories.

The next month dragged by slowly and painfully. Wei Wuxian came to see Lan Zhan on some days to help him with his plants and then he would leave. Lan Zhan wanted so badly to kiss him and hold onto him and ask him to stay, but his father’s words haunted him. He felt terrible. It was all so confusing and he didn’t know what to do or think.

And he could feel Wei Wuxian breaking away from him. Without the sex, their relationship was hollow. Lan Zhan _missed_ him, even when they sat next to each other. It got to the point where being with him was more painful than being without. And yet he craved his presence even more than before.

He kept asking himself if he loved Wei Wuxian, and the answer was always no. He didn’t want to marry him. He couldn’t see himself being a housewife (househusband?) or raising his kids. He couldn’t see himself doing that with _anyone._ Also, Wei Wuxian was such a bright personality and he should be with someone who was similar.

But he didn’t want to let go of him either. He _wanted_ him. He hated that about himself now. It was so selfish.

It was easier to focus on his plants and his magic. Every weekend, he went down to the city with either Wei Wuxian or Su Ming. He found Hua first and took Hudie off her hands, then walked around to find anyone who sold flowers. It was spring, so there were plenty of them. He offered his services for free for the first couple of weekends, telling them that if they felt that it helped their sales then they could negotiate prices in the future. He didn’t plan on charging a lot, because it wasn’t like he needed the money to survive. He mostly wanted just a small income that didn’t come from his family.

Meanwhile, now that Wei Wuxian wasn’t as preoccupied with Lan Zhan, he had more time to focus on his studies. He needed a distraction, lest he let his mind wander to dark places. Of course, he missed Lan Zhan something rotten. Even when he was with him, he couldn’t help letting his eyes wander down to his lips. He missed kissing him, touching him…

Lan Zhan had said himself that they weren’t to have sex anymore and Wei Wuxian was glad. He wasn’t sure what he would’ve said if he had to be the one to end things. Being with him intimately like that would only make him feel worse.

It was later in the month that Wei Wuxian happened to stumble upon a conversation between his conjuration teacher, Wang Laoshi, and a man he had never seen before. This strange man was looking for someone from Wang Laoshi’s classes to take out on a mission. It would take a few days, it required collecting a few rare materials for some kind of potion. They were quite difficult to get to, hence the ask for a conjuration student. They were natural puzzle solvers, after all. The man warned that the parts in the which the ingredients could be found could also be quite dangerous, so someone brave was required.

Wei Wuxian apologised profusely for butting in the conversation before volunteering for the position. It was a chance to prove his skills, to go on an adventure, somewhere far away from Lan Zhan. The man looked taken aback by Wei Wuxian’s courage, declaring it to be unorthodox for a first year to take on such a dangerous mission. However, to Wei Wuxian’s surprise, Wang Laoshi only praised him and recommended him for the task.

And that was how he ended up gathering a few of his things for the trip out into the wilderness. The man, Zhang Guanyu, was a powerful mage from the far west of the country. He tutored young, talented alphas, taking them on as an apprentice to fully explore the depths of their magic. Zhang Guanyu was a strange man, Wei Wuxian noted, as he joked about how the world around him did not entirely approve of some of his teaching methods and the sort of magic he opened himself up to. However, Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but be intrigued.

The retrieval of the ingredients was more gruelling than Wei Wuxian expected. He saw things that he never thought he would unsee but each walking corpse eventually met an end to his blade or his magic. He was haggard when they got back, but it had been worth it.

“Young Master Wei,” Zhang Guanyu said as they reached the gates to Gusu University. “I had my doubts about employing a first year student for this task but you put those doubts to rest very quickly.”

Wei Wuxian laughed and scratched the back of his neck. “Thank you. Both for the compliment and the opportunity. If you ever have any more missions like that, I’d be happy to do it.”

“No need,” Zhang Guanyu said, putting his hand up. Wei Wuxian’s shoulders slumped. “I have a better preposition for you.”

“Huh?”

“I told you about how I take on apprentices every few years. I am looking for a new one. Would you be interested in the position?”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes.”

“Yes! Yes. I would be very interested,” Wei Wuxian spoke without thinking. This was an opportunity in a million. There was no way that the Jiangs wouldn’t be proud of him for getting this kind of apprenticeship. “But uh… what does this… mean for me, exactly?”

Zhang Guanyu chuckled. “You would have to leave this institution as soon as possible. You have a short break soon, do you not? Take your break to prepare your things if you are willing. Instead of coming back here, you will arrive on my doorstep, refreshed and ready. I will speak to those in charge here, if your answer is yes.”

Wei Wuxian’s heart pounded in his chest. He liked his time here at Gusu University, of course he did, but he knew that he would be able to do so much more with Zhang Guanyu. No more boring lectures, only adventure. It did mean leaving Lan Zhan behind… Perhaps, it would be good for him. He would finally be able to let go of the man who had declared he would never love him back. After he had been away for a while, maybe he would be able to forget him. It would take time, it would be painful, but while he lingered here, he would never be able to move on.

“Yes,” he said finally. “I want to do it.”

“Great! Go settle down, I’ll be in touch, Wei Wuxian,” Zhang Guanyu said, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder.

Wei Wuxian smiled wide and nodded. He had a lot to think about.

First things first, he went to tell Jiang Wanyin. He was surprised to see how supportive his brother was of the opportunity. The two even shared a hug. He didn’t need to tell Wei Wuxian that he was going to miss him, Wei Wuxian understood the look in his eyes.

It was strangely exciting to be packing his things. Greater things were coming his way. Jiang Wanyin helped him get everything together. He was so excited in fact, that he could hardly sleep the night before he was supposed to leave. He stared up at the dark ceiling of his empty room.

Then, his mind began to wander. He hadn’t plucked the nerve to break the news to Lan Zhan yet and he was running out of time. Would it be better to leave without a word? No, Lan Zhan was still his friend. He deserved to know.

Wei Wuxian pushed himself out of bed and lit a few candles. He grabbed a scrap of paper and some ink and sat down at the desk in the room. At first, he had just intended to write a simple goodbye, but then everything began to spill out. Everything he wanted to tell Lan Zhan but hadn’t. He wouldn’t be there to see his reaction so it didn’t matter. He would get it all out and then forget. Leave it all behind.

Once it was done, Wei Wuxian folded the paper in half and wrote Lan Zhan’s name on the folded side, his fingers a little shaky. Was this a mistake? Well, there was no going back now.

He crept out of the alpha dorms and walked towards the omega ones. Distantly, he thought about how he had climbed up there, to Lan Zhan’s window, so many times. He summoned his tentacles to deliver the letter up to Lan Zhan’s window and slipped it in. Lan Zhan was no doubt sleeping so he would see it when he woke in the morning. By the time he’d read it, Wei Wuxian would already be on his way out of the University. That was the way he wanted it.

Wei Wuxian headed back to bed and curled up. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to get some sleep before his big day tomorrow.


	22. Home

It was almost time for the students to leave for the summer break. It was only a month long, and some students stayed. Lan Zhan didn’t know how he felt about Wei Wuxian leaving for the month. He felt empty, much like he had for a few weeks now. Maybe having a little bit of time away from him would help sort things out in his head.

He stayed in bed for a little while after the morning bell rang that morning. He wanted to go find Wei Wuxian and… say goodbye or _something._ Maybe apologize. He didn’t even know what he would apologize for. Sorry for being a bitch?

He sighed and turned over, and that’s when he saw the letter on the floor by the window. His heart immediately started to pound. The only person who would come up the ladder was Wei Wuxian.

He got out of bed and picked up the letter, then returned to his bed while he opened it with shivering hands.

_Lan Zhan,_

_I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you for putting up with me all this time, all of my stupid jokes and everything. I really enjoyed all the time we have spent together even if it meant getting thrown off horses and dealing with your drunk self. I liked buying you things, the hair ornament, all of the outfits. I hold no regrets for anything we did._

_But all good things have to come to an end or whatever it is people say. You see, I went out on a mission with a man named Zhang Guanyu. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Apparently he regularly takes students from this university. Anyway, he’s offered to make me his new apprentice and I said yes. By the time you read this, I will be leaving. I have packed my things, I’m heading home to get the rest of my stuff and I’m not coming back to this university._

_I thought I owed you a goodbye. I thought it’d be easier this way, rather than telling you in person. You’ll find a new alpha to be your boy toy, I’m sure, but I don’t want to hear about it. Don’t try and write to me. Don’t pester Jiang Wanyin to get a hold of me either. This is all under the presumption that you would even care to. When have you ever cared about how I felt, really?_

_If you’re still reading this, you deserve to know that I overheard you talking to your dad when we were in the Capitol. I know you will never love me, never marry me, never have kids with me. So, you will understand when I say that it is better if I leave and we don’t speak again._

_Because I love you, Lan Zhan. I have always loved you. I am a fool to think that anything would change, I’m sorry for getting feelings involved. I tried to maintain boundaries, I tried to not care whether you cared about me or not. But you haunted my dreams every night, I have never been able to stop thinking about you._

_I can’t live like this._

_Goodbye, Lan Zhan._

_Your friend,_

_Wei Wuxian_

Hot tears poured down Lan Zhan’s cheeks. This was it. This was the culmination of everything he had done. This is what his father had been talking about. Wei Wuxian was done with him now, and he had every right to be. He was moving on with his life, he was making something of himself, he was…

...Never coming back.

Lan Zhan was suffocating. He gasped and his vision blurred from the tears and he dropped the letter.

 _”No,”_ he cried.

And that’s when it hit him. Realization washed over him along with a bone-freezing horror, stopping his heart for a beat.

He loved Wei Wuxian.

There was no other way to see it now. All the lust and the need for his kisses and warmth, that was irrelevant. He had been obsessing over the sex versus the domesticism, and he had overlooked the only part that mattered. Lan Zhan could never see himself barefoot and pregnant and cooking meals for Wei Wuxian while he was at work, but all of the other scenarios he played out for himself _still involved him_. Something even more unimaginable than marrying Wei Wuxian was living without him. And maybe he _could_ imagine now. Maybe he was avoiding what marriage really would look like for them. When had Wei Wuxian ever been traditional?

And so what if he ended up barefoot and pregnant one day? Would that be so bad? If that was his future, wouldn’t it be worth it if it involved Wei Wuxian?

_It’s supposed to feel like coming home._

He thought about himself sitting on Wei Wuxian’s desk, not a single layer of clothing to protect him, bare and exposed and vulnerable. How much he had trusted the man in front of him, and how delicately Wei Wuxian had handled that trust.

Wei Wuxian was his home now. Lan Zhan had never felt safer anywhere than when he was in his arms. And now his home was leaving because he hadn’t appreciated it.

He pulled on some pants and boots and he took his robes down the stairs with him to put on as he ran. His hair was still down and his face was a mess, but maybe that would get people out of his way. He wanted to fall to the floor and cry, but he had to keep going. He couldn’t let Wei Wuxian leave; he had been so selfish and now he was going to keep being so.

It was still before dawn, though it looked like it was just over the horizon. He cursed himself for laying in his bed; was he already gone? There were already people by the gates with their bags. Lan Zhan shoved past the few people that didn’t see him coming, apologizing in passing. He ran out the gates and looked around. No Wei Wuxian.

Was he still in his room? He thought back to the letter. _By the time you read this, I will be leaving._ No, Lan Zhan’s best bet was to run. He would run all the way to the fucking city of Gusu and get a horse if he had to.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to run all the way to Gusu. However, it was a good five minutes before he saw two people around the bend in the road, about fifteen meters away. He came to a stop. Shouting louder than he probably ever had in his life, he yelled:

**“Wei Wuxian!”**

Wei Wuxian recognised that voice. Of course he did. But even as he and Jiang Wanyin, who walked by his side, turned around at the sound of the yell, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. He blinked owlishly, taking in the sight of Lan Zhan, dishevelled and exhausted.

“Lan Zhan…?” he said.

Tears blurred Lan Zhan’s vision again and he lost sight of him. He sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeve and took a few weak steps forward. Taking in a deep breath, he shouted again, “Don’t leave!”

His legs buckled and he plopped ungracefully to the ground, sobs wracking his body. He had to try a few times to breathe in enough air, but once he did he shouted one last time the thing that Wei Wuxian needed to know. “I love you!”

Lan Zhan bent forward, sweaty palms digging into his eyes. He moaned in agony, unable to contain it anymore. He was weak now, all of his energy sucked out by the confession. Wei Wuxian could keep going and Lan Zhan wouldn’t be able to follow. That was what he deserved, right?

Jiang Wanyin respectfully looked away as Wei Wuxian stared, his heart racing. Did he hear Lan Zhan right? Did he say what he thought he did? Either way, he couldn’t let him stay on the ground like that, so he hurried over and gently grabbed Lan Zhan’s arms to help pull him back up onto his feet.

“H-Hey… Lan Zhan. Breathe. Please just… breathe,” he attempted to calm him down a little so he could talk to him properly.

Lan Zhan gasped in air and it came out in more sobs. He clung onto Wei Wuxian like a lifeline, because he _was_ his lifeline. That’s what it felt like, anyway.

“Don’t leave me,” Lan Zhan sobbed, _”please.”_

He needed to keep talking. He needed to _explain._ His words were slurred and only just intelligible through the crying, his voice going up and down uncharacteristically. “I’m sorry… I told Daddy I didn’t want to get married because I don’t want to be like they were… he said it’s supposed to feel like coming home and you make me feel safe and warm and happy and I’m not home when I’m without you because— because I love you.”

He didn’t think he was making any sense, but hopefully his message got across. He cried into Wei Wuxian’s shirt, unwilling to let go of him.

Wei Wuxian wrapped his arms tightly around Lan Zhan, rubbing his back and leaning his cheek against the side of his head. It had been so long since he had held him like this, so long since they had touched, since… _everything._

It felt right. It felt like _home._

“Lan Zhan… You mean it? You really mean it?” he asked. He pulled Lan Zhan away from him slightly so he could cup his cheeks and wipe his tears with his thumbs. “Because if this is a joke, it’s… it’s really not funny.”

Lan Zhan sucked in a shaky breath and nodded, squeezing more tears out of his eyes. “When have I joked?” he asked, his voice thick. “I’m sorry I’m so selfish but I don’t want you to leave! I know I said I wouldn’t go on dates or let you buy me a rabbit before but you can ask me again. Ask me anything you want. Then you can see if I’m joking.”

Wei Wuxian swallowed down the lump in his throat. Oh Gods, was he going to cry? Seeing Lan Zhan this upset was doing things to him. But he decided to humour him anyway. Wei Wuxian dropped to one knee and took Lan Zhan’s hand between his, and tilted his head to look up at him.

“Marry me then,” he said.

That brought Lan Zhan back to a sobbing mess. He nodded even while he bawled, wiping his face with his sleeve again. There was no doubt in his mind anymore. “Yes,” he forced out.

“Oh Gods above,” Jiang Wanyin hissed under his breath.

But Wei Wuxian didn’t care. He leapt back up to his feet and wrapped both arms around Lan Zhan, launching him into the air and off his feet, swirling him around in his arms with a little laugh. When he finally set him back down, he leaned in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan could barely kiss with how much he was crying. It was almost like his heat was around the corner again. The tears just wouldn’t stop. And the _words_ wouldn’t stop either, words that surprised even him.

“I want to have sex with you every day. And I’ll feed you and care for you, just ask me and I’ll do it. And maybe one day I’ll have your babies too.”

“Alright, slow down a second, there won’t be any babies just yet,” Wei Wuxian said with a light laugh. He tucked a lock of hair behind Lan Zhan’s ear. “I want this. I do. You’ve made the happiest man alive, Lan Zhan, I… I love you. I have loved you for so long. I’ll tell Zhang Guanyu that I’m not going, if it means you’ll have me. But I still have to go home, to Lotus Pier. Do you… Do you want to come? You’ll have to hurry, wash up and pack your things. I can help.”

Lan Zhan nodded. He wanted to see Lotus Pier. He didn’t care where he was right then, he just wanted Wei Wuxian. He glanced at Jiang Wanyin, suddenly embarrassed about how much he had said in earshot of him. About how much he had _cried._

“You’ll get to see the lotus flowers in bloom on the river, remember what I said about that? And I guess I’ll introduce you to Uncle Jiang and Auntie Yu as my… Tell them I’m courting you,” Wei Wuxian babbled. Then, he turned to look at Jiang Wanyin. “Jiang Wanyin! Wait here with my stuff, okay? I’m going to help Lan Zhan pack. We’ll be back soon!”

With that, he grabbed Lan Zhan’s hand and took off back towards campus.

Lan Zhan was exhausted from his desperate run before but he did his best to keep up with Wei Wuxian. He was glad that he was relatively fit and could climb the stairs still. After he got dressed properly, he got out a giant backpack that he used when going on trips with his father. He and Wei Wuxian filled it with everything he would need, plus some extra things. Wei Wuxian gathered his personal items like his comb and oil for him.

Then Lan Zhan stuffed Blue in at the top. He should practically bring a smaller stuffed animal, but Blue was his favorite. His plants were going to die over the month, but he had plenty of seeds from them all and he could always grow new ones.

“I have to go tell Mother,” he said as he shut the door behind him on the way out.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Wei Wuxian asked. He wondered what exactly he was going to tell his mother. Just that he was going to Lotus Pier or that they were courting now too?

“Yes,” Lan Zhan said. His body ached from all the running and climbing stairs, but he was on cloud nine.

His mother was in the residential area still. “Mother?” he called as he approached her room.

“Yes?” Lan Xia responded, and a few seconds later she emerged from the bedroom. She startled, seeming very surprised at Wei Wuxian’s presence.

“Mother,” Lan Zhan began, “Wei Wuxian asked me to marry him.”

Lan Xia’s mouth dropped.

“He did _what?”_ said a voice from another room. Lan Qiren emerged a few doors down, looking shocked.

Wei Wuxian jumped at the sound of Lan Qiren’s voice and he couldn’t help but laugh. Oh Gods, he’d gotten himself into a situation here. “Just to be clear! Lan… Lan Zhan said yes!” he said.

“You said _what?”_ Lan Qiren continued.

“You’re not pregnant are you?” Lan Xia asked.

Lan Zhan shook his head. “I am going to Lotus Pier in Yunmeng for summer break,” he said.

Lan Xia looked alarmed so he said, “We will not be married there. It is just vacation.”

“You can’t just _leave_ like this for a whole month,” Lan Qiren said.

“I apologize, Uncle,” Lan Zhan said, “I will be.”

Wei Wuxian bowed his head politely towards Lan Qiren and Lan Xia. “We’re very sorry for how sudden all of this is. I’m sure you’ve probably heard that I was supposed to be leaving to study under Zhang Guanyu after break but that’s now cancelled as… Lan Zhan and I wish to be together,” he said. He took Lan Zhan’s hand in his. “I will take good care of him. He will be safe with me in Yunmeng for the month.”

Lan Xia walked over and pulled Lan Zhan into a hug. “I love you,” she said, “I know I’ve been pressuring you, this isn’t just to please me, right?”

“It is not,” Lan Zhan said.

“Okay baby,” Lan Xia kissed his forehead. “Stay safe.”

Then she moved to hug Wei Wuxian as well. “Bring him back in one piece, alright?”

“I will, I promise,” Wei Wuxian said, returning Lan Xia’s hug. He had always liked her hugs. When they parted, he looked to Lan Zhan and smiled.

Lan Zhan looked at Lan Qiren, who had a hand on his forehead. “May I have my allowance for this month?” he asked.

Lan Qiren looked defeated. “Just one moment,” he said. He left and quickly returned to give Lan Zhan a small bag of money.

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said, then he bowed respectfully.

“Be careful,” Lan Qiren said. He gave Wei Wuxian a troubled look.

Lan Zhan nodded. “We will,” he said. “Goodbye. We will return in one month.” With that, he turned to leave, subconsciously reaching out to grab Wei Wuxian’s hand.

Wei Wuxian eagerly took Lan Zhan’s hand when he reached out and the two of them made their way back out of campus and towards an exasperated looking Jiang Wanyin, after stopping to say goodbye to Lan Xichen.

“Took you two long enough,” he complained.

“Sorry. Lan Zhan had to say goodbye to his family, obviously,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan had given Lan Xichen a hug on the way out, but he hadn’t explained anything. He was sure he would get the information from their mother soon. He didn’t know what to say to Jiang Wanyin. The last time they had spoken, it hadn’t been very cordial. He would probably offer him a fruit when he got in the carriage as an apology.

Jiang Wanyin just rolled his eyes and pushed Wei Wuxian’s things towards him so he could carry them. He didn’t say anything else, just started to walk again.

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to put up with me for a whole month?” Wei Wuxian asked Lan Zhan with a little grin.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan nodded. They had a month to make up for, anyway. Though he wasn’t sure how much they’d be able to make up. It depended on how big the house was... they could be quiet. They managed it in the inn a month prior.

Wei Wuxian continued to make small talk with Lan Zhan the whole way to the city, holding his hand the whole time, where they paid for a carriage to take them to Lotus Pier. Jiang Wanyin sat one side while Wei Wuxian sat the other.

“Lan Zhan,” he cooed once he got comfortable and pat his lap.

Lan Zhan glanced at Jiang Wanyin shyly. He didn’t want to be so shameless in front of the man, but... he scooted over and curled up in Wei Wuxian’s lap, resting his head on his shoulder. He couldn’t help but purr as the realization hit him for the fiftieth time — Wei Wuxian wasn’t leaving. He wasn’t _ever_ leaving.

Wei Wuxian was happy to wrap his arms around Lan Zhan and press a kiss to the top of his head when he settled against him, basking in the purr he made.

Jiang Wanyin simply rolled his eyes and looked away.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Wei Wuxian mumbled.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and just savored the moment. How had he not realized this before? Why did it take him so long? Why did he have to hurt Wei Wuxian before he knew?

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“What matters now is that you’re here with me,” Wei Wuxian said, squeezing his side. “And you best believe that you’ve given me permission to dote all over you now. You’re not catching a break.”

Lan Zhan’s lips tilted up a little. “Okay,” he said. It didn’t sound so bad anymore.

After a moment he pulled away to reach down for his bag. He got out his smaller bag where he’d put his fruits and he got out an orange. Then he held the bag out to Jiang Wanyin. “You can have some fruits,” he said. It had been long before breakfast was served by the time the alphas had left. Unless they ate snacks or something, they were probably hungry.

Jiang Wanyin looked skeptical but he took the bag and looked inside before pulling out a selection of fruit to eat as well. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian whined, looking at the orange in his hand. “Share?”

“Patience,” Lan Zhan scolded him gently. He peeled the orange and took off a piece and placed it in Wei Wuxian’s mouth. He alternated giving him slices and eating his own until it was gone. “Are you sure you want to cancel your apprenticeship?” he asked.

“I can’t ask you to move all the way out there with me. It’s so far away from your family,” Wei Wuxian replied. “I want to be with you. I’m happy wherever you are.”

Lan Zhan looked at Wei Wuxian, then smiled a little and pressed his forehead against his. “I am too,” he said.

“Zhang Guanyu will find another apprentice, it’ll be fine. I’ll finish my studies and then we’ll see where we are then, huh?” Wei Wuxian said.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan went back to resting his head on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. “Maybe we can go around and grow plants and give away fruits and vegetables for free. And sell interesting flowers and blue apples that taste like oranges.”

Wei Wuxian kissed his cheek again. “Sounds like a plan to me.”


	23. Alpha Lan Zhan

They rode in the carriage until nightfall. It would still take a few more days to get to Yunmeng, but for now, they would spend the night in an inn. Wei Wuxian got out of the carriage and offered Lan Zhan a hand to step out as well. Jiang Wanyin soon followed. The three of them entered the inn and paid for two rooms.

“A room far away from theirs please,” Jiang Wanyin had said and the innkeeper had laughed before handing him and Wei Wuxian a key each.

“Such a prude, Jiang Wanyin,” Wei Wuxian teased.

Jiang Wanyin huffed and made off down the hall to his room.

Wei Wuxian watched him go and then took Lan Zhan’s hand to guide him down to their room. “I didn’t want to presume anything,” he said. “But I thought you might like to share the bed with me.”

Lan Zhan giggled under his breath. He was giddy — they hadn’t had sex in a month and he was _starved._ “I brought the book,” he said.

He hadn’t really looked at it much since he always got upset about not being able to have sex. But now... maybe they could take a look together.

“The one we bought in the Capitol?” Wei Wuxian asked. He unlocked the door to their room and walked inside, Lan Zhan in tow. As soon as he was in, he shucked off his boots and his jacket along with his bag.

Lan Zhan set his bag against the wall and took off his forehead ribbon and took his hair down. He stripped down to his inner robes and then took the book out of his bag and brought it to the bed. He lay down on his stomach and waited for Wei Wuxian to join him. “I haven’t looked at it a lot,” he said.

“You were very excited about it when we looked at it in the store,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He walked over and laid beside Lan Zhan on the bed, nuzzling against him and scenting him with a pleased noise.

Lan Zhan tilted his head to give him more room. He opened the book and the first thing he saw was the envelope with the lubrication recipe. He sucked in a breath. “Wait,” he said.

He got up and went to his bag. He pulled everything out, setting them all in neat piles, until he got the bag of personal items. Wei Wuxian had put this together for him, so maybe he had put the jar in there too...

He hummed happily when he saw it. He pulled it out triumphantly and showed Wei Wuxian. He had made the recipe out of curiosity a couple weeks before and put it in one of the jars he used for his hair oil. He kept his actual hair oil by the bath, and this jar in his drawer at the vanity. He would have to find some oil eventually to keep his hair shiny, but he was glad Wei Wuxian had (probably unknowingly) brought this instead.

It didn’t take Wei Wuxian long to figure out what the jar was in relation to seeing the envelope. He smiled, his cheeks a little pink. Right. He hadn’t realised it was _that_ when he put it in Lan Zhan’s bag.

“Oh,” he said. “Did you want to…?”

Lan Zhan returned to the bed and set the oil down on the table before going back to his spot. “If you want to,” he said. “Doesn’t matter to me. Just want you.”

He flipped through the first couple pages of the book. He went over the parts that had women and stopped on a place where it looked like the main character was flirting with an alpha. He wasn’t a burly alpha, but rather a tall and lean one with beautiful features. He kind of reminded Lan Zhan of himself. The cool and slightly hostile expression included.

“There is no one else in the world I would rather fuck me,” Wei Wuxian mumbled against Lan Zhan. He glanced down at the book as he flipped to the page with the alpha, pupils dilating with interest.

Lan Zhan glanced at Wei Wuxian through lidded eyes. His scent twisted a bit with interest and desire, the kind that was _almost_ arousal but not quite. He was excited about the prospect of getting to fuck Wei Wuxian.

He looked at the page. The main character flirted with the alpha for two pages, taunting him a little. The alpha was bitter-looking yet cool and collected, if a bit snarky with his short responses. He was also _very_ tall, or maybe the omega was just short. Either way they were a full head of height difference. The next page was in a bedroom. The alpha started to undress the omega, who stopped him and pushed him onto the bed. Using the alpha’s sash, he tied his hands to the headboard. The alpha looked pretty annoyed but didn’t fight it. Lan Zhan’s scent intensified a little and he hummed with interest when he saw the scene. It was exactly the kind of thing he had dreamed about doing to Wei Wuxian.

“He’s got a lot of fight in him, huh?” Wei Wuxian commented, looking at the omega in question. “Gets whatever he wants… Doesn’t let anyone or even society tell him what to do.”

“Mm.” Lan Zhan took in a deep breath and turned the page.

The omega sat on the alphas lap and made a show of undressing himself. The alpha didn’t seem to be very aroused by it, he mostly just seemed annoyed. Probably because the power had been taken from him. The next page was just the omega riding him until he came. He taunted him the whole time, asking him how many alphas had fucked him and saying that he looked very pretty like an omega. The alpha didn’t answer the questions, so Lan Zhan assumed that he really did like to be fucked by other alphas. Once he was done, the omega dipped his fingers inside himself and then lifted the alpha’s leg and stuck one finger in his ass.

Lan Zhan had to suspend his belief here; slick wasn’t exactly that kind of viscosity and it probably wouldn’t stay wet for long outside of his pussy, but this was just a porn comic. The alpha’s eyes went wide and he looked alarmed and defensive, but he still didn’t fight it or kick the omega away.

“Do you think you’d still like getting fucked if you were an alpha?” Wei Wuxian asked with a hum. He could see the resemblance between the alpha and Lan Zhan but it was an odd train of thought. “I’d still want to fuck you if you were, you know.”

Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think so,” he said. “I would be meaner than this alpha. The omega would be ruined by now if it was me.”

Wei Wuxian snorted with amusement. “Is that so? You’d be one of _those_ alphas, huh? I guess we’d have to fight to see who would be on top then.”

Lan Zhan smiled with his eyes. "I would kick your ass even more than I could now," he said. That line of thought made him curious. "Would you have wanted to have sex with me sooner if I was an alpha?" he asked.

“Hmm… I don’t know. Obviously, there isn’t the pregnancy risk if you were an alpha and I might have worried a bit less about… _deflowering_ you or whatever,” Wei Wuxian said. “Stupid societal standards. If you were quick to bend over for me like you were as an omega then maybe.”

Lan Zhan hummed. "Maybe not then," he said. "I don't think I would like alphas." He had to stop and think after that. Well... that might not be true. He couldn't imagine himself liking women at all, and he had never even met another omega man that was his age. "Maybe I would. If they were pretty."

“I’m sure alpha you would be quick to eat me up if I were an omega then,” Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh. He wouldn’t blame him, he was sure that he would be cute if he was an omega.

Lan Zhan's eyes darkened as they turned on Wei Wuxian. "I would destroy you," he said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and cupped Lan Zhan’s face so he could lean in to kiss him. This was one of the things he had missed the most, being able to breathe in his sweet scent and kiss him passionately.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth as his eyes drifted shut. He kissed back and then lay down flat on the bed, pulling Wei Wuxian to his lips again. He purred; he had been doing that all day, every time he was overcome with happiness from being in Wei Wuxian’s arms.

“I missed you,” he rumbled into the kiss.

“I missed you too. I knew it was going to hurt leaving you but I’m glad… I’m glad you decided that you wanted me to stay,” Wei Wuxian replied, peppering kisses over Lan Zhan’s lips and jaw.

Lan Zhan ran his hands along Wei Wuxian’s neck, then down his back and sides and over his ass. “I couldn’t get off like normal,” he whispered. “Made me sad.”

“It’s a good thing you never had to go through another heat before you realised, huh?” Wei Wuxian said, rocking gently back into the hands that were cupping his ass. “You had a taste of me, there would be no going back now. I feel the same way about my ruts.”

Lan Zhan‘s eyes glinted. “I like you in rut,” he said. “I want to see it when I’m not weak and in heat. You got so proud of yourself when I submitted but it was just because I was too tired to fight anymore.”

“I don’t know, it might trigger your heat early if you smell me in rut, it’d all be for nothing,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He leaned down to kiss his neck.

Lan Zhan grumbled. “The problem is your rut starting because I’m in heat. My heats never come early.” He trapped Wei Wuxian’s legs with his own and rolled them over easily so he could lay on top of him.

“You might eat those words,” Wei Wuxian said. He smiled wide and put his hands on Lan Zhan’s shoulders. It was a little strange to be underneath him like this but he sort of liked it.

Lan Zhan bent his knees and scooted them under Wei Wuxian’s thighs. “My next heat is in early August,” he said. “When was your rut supposed to be last time?”

“Late May. So it would normally be late August but I don’t know if it coming early has affected the cycle. Until I was with you in heat, my rut has never come early like that,” Wei Wuxian told him.

Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose. “You should make it start next month or wait till my heat is over,” he said. He knew it wasn’t that simple but he wanted to complain anyway. He just wanted to deal with Wei Wuxian in rut when he had a clear mind. It sounded like fun. It wasn’t fair that Wei Wuxian got to play with him in heat but he couldn’t do the same.

“Ah yes, I’ll just switch it off,” Wei Wuxian said. He laughed a little and then moved his hand to cup Lan Zhan’s cheeks. “Now, are you going to fuck me or what?”

Lan Zhan hummed and leaned down to kiss Wei Wuxian. He started slow and deep, his tongue gently pushing into his mouth. His hands slid down Wei Wuxian’s body and grabbed his thighs, pulling them up as he started moving his hips in slow undulations. He could feel himself harden in his pants. It was going to be weird as hell to fuck his ass. Part of him wanted to recoil at the notion — it seemed like it would be gross. But he had stuck Wei Wuxian’s dick in his mouth and survived, so he could survive this too.

Wei Wuxian groaned into Lan Zhan’s mouth at the steady friction. He rested his ankles against Lan Zhan’s sides and let his mouth open up for Lan Zhan’s attention.

Lan Zhan loved these reactions. He felt powerful; he liked how pliant Wei Wuxian was being for him. His aroused scent intensified and he growled quietly. It felt weird, since it wasn’t an aggressive growl, but more of a... pleased one, somehow. Maybe he was just on a power trip. He undid Wei Wuxian’s pants and slowly pulled them up over his ass and thighs along with his underwear, then he pulled away so he could remove them completely.

“Growling at me, huh? I think all this power is going to your head, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said with a laugh. “Should I be calling you _alpha?_ ”

Lan Zhan liked the idea of that, though he wouldn’t say it. He growled again and ducked down to nibble and suck on Wei Wuxian’s neck. He gave his cock a single stroke, then fondled his balls for a second before he fingered around the spot just behind them. He remembered Wei Wuxian said it felt good last time he had done it.

It made Wei Wuxian’s breath stutter and he wiggled a little on the sheets. It _did_ feel good when Lan Zhan’s finger pressed down there in a way he never thought it would. His cock twitched a little, slowly hardening under each ministration.

Lan Zhan pressed harder and rubbed his fingers in tiny circles. With his other hand, he pulled his book over and looked at the pages it was opened to. He didn’t really know how this whole thing worked, and he was sure porn wasn’t the most accurate representation of this kind of thing, but it was the closest thing he had to a guidebook.

“Am I really that boring to look at?” Wei Wuxian teased as he saw Lan Zhan grab the book. It was cute how he was seemingly use it for reference. The two of them were fairly clueless on how all of this worked, but Wei Wuxian knew that he definitely wanted to try. With any hope, he would enjoy the experience.

Lan Zhan grabbed the lube and dipped part of two fingers in. It was clear and slimy, a lot moreso than slick was. But he supposed that was the point. The omega in the book had just stuck one in... he peered down at Wei Wuxian’s hole. Was he really about to do this? He hesitantly put his fingers down there and touched it, then looked up at Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian shivered a little when Lan Zhan’s finger touched him there. It was a little cold. He’d never done anything like this before, he didn’t know how it’d feel, but he looked up at Lan Zhan and nodded.

Lan Zhan took a deep breath and pushed his middle finger in. He wrinkled his nose and his eyebrow twitched. _Gods_ he was putting his finger in Wei Wuxian’s ass. He looked at the porn book. The next part was adding another finger. He glanced at Wei Wuxian to gauge his reaction.

Wei Wuxian made a small noise in the back of his throat when Lan Zhan’s finger slipped inside him and his own fingers twitched slightly. It was a strange sensation, he felt oddly full. Nothing about it was pleasurable but it didn’t feel bad or hurt either. He supposed it would only take time. “Gods,” he mumbled.

Lan Zhan pulled his finger out to the tip and then placed his index finger right under it. He pushed them in slowly, watching Wei Wuxian’s face for signs of pain.

“It feels… strange,” Wei Wuxian mumbled. He shifted his hips in an attempt to get more comfortable with it, making another small noise as he did.

Lan Zhan studied the next few pages of the book. It seemed like there was a spot in alphas that was similar to his own sweet spot. It sounded dubious, but maybe that was the spot that he had been rubbing on the outside a minute ago. He turned his fingers to face upwards and started rubbing them in small movements in and out, pressing against the top wall.

Wei Wuxian groaned a little as Lan Zhan’s fingers experimented around inside him. Then, suddenly a spark of pleasure shot up his spine and he let out a gasp. He grabbed Lan Zhan’s arm and licked his lips. “Whatever you just did, do… do that again,” he said.

Lan Zhan met his gaze and paused, then started back up again, this time a little harder. “What does it feel like?” he asked.

“It…ahh… It feels good. But it’s… different to what I’m used to. It’s not the same as when you…mm… touch my cock,” Wei Wuxian tried his best to articulate while Lan Zhan pushed his fingers in that hard.

Lan Zhan hummed and looked at the book again. The next part was the omega putting his dick in. He pulled his fingers out and stood up, then stripped from the waist down. He returned to the bed and got the lube again and carefully smeared it over his length. It was cold and it felt weird... this was surely an experience.

He set the jar aside and wiped his hand off on Wei Wuxian’s shirt, then he grabbed his thighs and pushed them up like the omega did in the book. It took a moment to get in the right position, but once he did he slowly pushed his hips forward. He sucked in a breath. It was _tight._

Wei Wuxian made a slightly high pitch noise in his throat when Lan Zhan started to press his cock inside. The rim of his hole burned a bit at the stretch, a couple of fingers couldn’t really compare to a cock. It was a rude awakening after the sparks of pleasure he’d been enjoying. He inhaled shakily and then bit his lip, eyes drawn to where Lan Zhan was sinking inside him. It hurt but it wasn’t too bad, nothing he couldn’t withstand. He was a bit more worried about the sudden feeling like he needed to use the bathroom, but he supposed it made sense given that something was entering him there and he had a feeling that the sensation would pass.

“T-Take it easy on me, okay?” Wei Wuxian said with a small, nervous laugh. “Does it feel good?”

Lan Zhan stayed still for a moment while he adjusted to it. He watched Wei Wuxian, his nervousness echoing in him. He looked at the book again. The rest of the scene was what he would expect. “Hang in there,” he said. Then, “It feels... good.”

“Good… That… makes me happy,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He leaned his head back and grumbled a little as he adjusted. But after a few moments, he felt ready to take things a step further. “Okay… I’m okay. You can move if you want.”

Lan Zhan shifted a little and gave a few experimental thrusts. He had ridden Wei Wuxian many times but these movements were different. His hips wanted to go _down,_ not forward. It was a little frustrating. He slowed down and repositioned himself. It was only possible for him to keep that slow pace, even though he _wanted_ to brutally slam into the hot canal that hugged his cock so well. He would get there.

Wei Wuxian made small, punched out noises every time Lan Zhan rocked his hips. He hoped that he would fully adjust and it would start to feel good soon. In the meantime, he reached his hands out to cup Lan Zhan’s cheeks. “Come down here and kiss me,” he demanded.

Lan Zhan’s instinct was to refuse. But it felt different being on top, being a brat didn’t feel right. He leaned forward but then went back, his movements stopping again. He had to readjust himself and let go of Wei Wuxian’s thighs. He leaned down and kissed him a few times. What he _really_ wanted to do was claim him while fucking him, but he could barely move in this position. He didn’t know how Wei Wuxian could do it so easily. He moved up and pulled out. “Turn over,” he said.

“So you can fuck me like an animal? Lan Zhan, you’re such a brute,” Wei Wuxian teased with a whine. He obeyed though, shuffling to turn over onto his front. He pulled his knees in and lifted his ass in the air with his chest against the sheets.

Lan Zhan scooted forward and grabbed Wei Wuxian’s ass. He positioned himself and pushed in again. This position seemed a little easier. He leaned over Wei Wuxian with his hands on either side of him and started thrusting. He could go faster now.

Wei Wuxian groaned when Lan Zhan re-entered him. He leaned his face against his arm, muffling his noises slightly, his face red. It was embarrassing to be fucked like this.

Lan Zhan liked that. Wei Wuxian looked good with a little bit of shame. He stopped moving for a second so he could lean down, then he started back up again. He rubbed his lips over the spot on the back of Wei Wuxian’s neck where it met his shoulder, then he closed his eyes and bit down on it.

Wei Wuxian’s eyelashes fluttered as Lan Zhan bit down on his neck, letting out a soft cry. To be fucked and claimed like this… Was this how Lan Zhan felt all the time? “Oh Gods Lan Zhan,” he whimpered.

Lan Zhan growled quietly. He wasn’t really counting the seconds, but it was probably somewhere between five and ten before he let go. When he pulled away the indentation was red and pronounced. That was going to last a while. He leaned down and licked over it, then moved up to nibble lightly on his ear. He growled again and his hips sped up. He was going go cum soon.

Wei Wuxian whined again. He reached under his body to find his cock and wrapped his fingers around it to pump it in time with Lan Zhan’s thrusts. “Fuck… Mmm… Tell me how it feels,” he rasped.

“Feels...” Lan Zhan huffed pushed himself back up to his hands. “Feels tight,” he forced out.

His thrusts stuttered and he had to focus to keep going. He could feel the familiar tensing of his body as the orgasm creeped up. It wasn’t a sudden one this time; it rose up and left him shaking and unable to breathe until it let go of him and he went limp on top of Wei Wuxian in a panting mess.

“Exhausted already?” Wei Wuxian asked with a smile. He tilted his head to one side so he could rest his cheek against the sheets and look over at the tired Lan Zhan leaning on top of him.

Lan Zhan rolled over onto his back next to Wei Wuxian. He _could_ keep going, he wanted to say. His dick was still over half hard.

“Maybe now you’ll have a little appreciation for when I fuck you three times in a row,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

“I could keep going,” Lan Zhan argued. “Three times in a row? Using your fingers doesn’t count.”

“I don’t believe you,” Wei Wuxian said. He wondered how easy it would be to antagonise Lan Zhan in this way.

“I could,” Lan Zhan insisted. He had caught his breath by now. “I’ve ridden you for longer.”

“It’s not the same and you know it,” Wei Wuxian replied. He rested his face back against his arm. “I won’t believe you unless you prove it.”

That annoyed Lan Zhan. He groaned and sat up, then stretched forward to touch his toes. He had been sitting in a carriage for most of the day, so if he was going to really push himself he should probably warm up a little. He stretched his legs and arms, then arched his back. When he felt loosened up enough he shuffled back to kneel behind Wei Wuxian. "Are you sure?" he asked.

“What, you think I can’t take it? You’ve yet to make me cum,” Wei Wuxian said. He arched his back towards Lan Zhan, presenting himself for him.

Lan Zhan kneaded Wei Wuxian's ass for a moment, enjoying the view, before he positioned himself and pushed in. He was a little more accustomed to the movements this time. He gave a few tiny thrusts at first so he could fully harden, then he sped up. It was actually easier being upright. He held Wei Wuxian's hips and furrowed his brow in concentration as he went harder.

Wei Wuxian gasped and groaned. He reached his hand back down under to play with his cock as Lan Zhan fucked into him. “Ah… You’re truly acting like an… an alpha, Lan Zhan. So rough…!” he rasped. “Are you going to prove it…mm… prove it true that alphas can’t make their omegas cum?”

Lan Zhan didn't know if he understood what Wei Wuxian was saying, but one thing did stick out. "Are you saying... you're my omega?" he asked breathlessly.

“You like it when I say that? That I’m…ahh… I’m your little omega, just begging to be bred… Look how you’re fucking my tight, wet pussy _alpha_ ,” Wei Wuxian played along.

Lan Zhan's hackles raised and he growled. He didn't know why that drove him wild but it did. He felt possessive. He didn't even need to imagine himself as an alpha -- he could do _better_ than an alpha. He slowed down so he could reposition himself and try to hit the sweet spot like Wei Wuxian did to him.

Wei Wuxian was about to egg him on further but all that came out of his mouth was a startling moan. Lan Zhan had managed to thrust into that sweet spot, that place that felt _good._ He fucked into his fist desperately with every movement, noting how precum wouldn’t stop spilling out into his hand. “Ahh…! O-Oh… Gods, Lan Zhan… Yes! There we go, just… just like that…!” he moaned. "Fuck me like that...!"

Now _that_ was a reaction. Lan Zhan slammed into that spot harder, only vaguely aware of the fact that the other patrons in the inn were going to hate them right about then. He tilted his head back and panted, his body straining from the effort. He wasn't going to stop; he had suffered far worse in his martial arts classes. He knew how to push himself when he really wanted to.

The merciless pounding only drove Wei Wuxian closer to the edge. He swore there were tears in his eyes as he cried out a final: “Yes! Yes, yes, yes _alpha_! I’m going to cum…!” He spilt hot into his own palm, his body trembling and tightening around Lan Zhan with each wave of his orgasm.

Lan Zhan groaned. He kept going, feeling himself get close too. Just a little bit more... he focused on the words Wei Wuxian had been crying out. _Your little omega, begging to be bred._ Wei Wuxian wasn't exactly little, but he could imagine. He grunted and growled as he got closer and finally came inside Wei Wuxian for a second time.

Wei Wuxian grunted at the gush inside him. He panted and completely flopped against the sheets in an attempt to relax and catch his breath. At least Lan Zhan wasn’t actually an alpha and he didn’t have to worry about pulling on a knot.

Lan Zhan hovered over Wei Wuxian for a moment before he too flopped down next to him. "Believe me now?" he breathed.

"Mmm I never doubted you Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian admitted with a little laugh. He rolled onto his side and reached out to pull Lan Zhan into his arms.

Lan Zhan hummed and turned to nuzzle against Wei Wuxian. He wasn't washed up for bed yet, but he didn't care. "I wonder if Jiang Wanyin heard you from across the inn," he mumbled.

“We’ll find out by whether he avoids eye contact with me in the carriage tomorrow,” Wei Wuxian said. He laughed again and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Lan Zhan was still for a moment, then he finally pulled away to go get ready for bed. After he washed up he took off the inner robe he still had on and put on pajamas instead.

“The Capitol isn’t too far out of the way, is it?” he asked. He had asked earlier if they could go through it and tell his father about their engagement. They had spent a few hours total in the cities they passed that day, so he was hoping they hadn’t gone too far.

“Hm? No, not really. It’s no trouble at all to go. We’ll stop and get something to eat while we’re there,” Wei Wuxian said. He’d gotten up to clean up as well before pulling on a pair of sleeping shorts.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan went to lay back down and waited for Wei Wuxian to join him. He closed his book and set it on the table next to the lube. “He told me a month ago that he wanted me to either not have sex with you if I have no feelings for you, or wait at least three years before we get married,” he said.

“Three years is a bit much, isn’t it? I know we’ve only known each other a handful of months but…” Wei Wuxian said. He climbed back on the bed with Lan Zhan and pulled the covers up over them.

Lan Zhan turned his head to look at Wei Wuxian. “I have never met someone like you,” he said softly. “I want to keep you forever.”

“I want to keep you forever as well,” Wei Wuxian said. He planted a soft kiss on Lan Zhan’s forehead and wrapped him up in his arms. “There will have to be a lot of preparations before we get married. I want to talk to your family properly. All of them. I’ll talk to your dad and… I’ll talk to your mother, your uncle, your brother when we get back to Gusu.”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Do you want to talk to my father tomorrow?” he asked. He put out the lights in the room and snuggled up to Wei Wuxian.

“Yeah. I’ll… have a private talk with him,” Wei Wuxian said with a shaky breath. “It’s kind of intimidating, you know.”

“Mm.” Lan Zhan sighed softly. “He will be more upset with me. It will be fine.”

Wei Wuxian let out a croon as he nuzzled closer to Lan Zhan and closed his eyes. “I don’t want him to be upset with you.”

“It will be fine,” Lan Zhan said again. His father was right to be upset with him in any case. He would have to really convince him that he truly loved Wei Wuxian.

“I hope so,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He rubbed small circles on Lan Zhan’s back with his fingers and crooned a little louder. It was relaxing to be like this. He would soon fall asleep.

Lan Zhan purred as he drifted. He didn’t care if his father was angry. That wasn’t something he ever expected himself to think, but it was true. He knew what he wanted now, and he was going to have it no matter what.


	24. Wedding Plans

They left before dawn the next morning and arrived at the Capitol a few hours later. Lan Zhan told Jiang Wanyin to stay around the central square where his father’s potions store was. There were countless shops and food stands and a park nearby, so there would be plenty of things for him to do while he waited.

Lan Zhan took Wei Wuxian by the hand and led him to the store, his heart pounding. He could do this. He was in control of his own life.

Lan Qingheng looked shocked when he saw the two walk into the store. He quickly finished with the customer he was serving and went to poke his head into another room. A moment later a young woman came out and took his place at the counter, and Lan Qingheng came around to approach them.

Before he could speak, Lan Zhan said, “Daddy, can we talk in the back room?”

Lan Qingheng looked between the two, his expression turning troubled. “Okay,” he said. “Follow me.”

Wei Wuxian followed Lan Zhan and Lan Qingheng into the back room of the shop. He was a little nervous, more so for the private conversation he wanted after this one, but he was prepared to do anything for Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan held Wei Wuxian’s hand as he sat down on the cushions by the table in the corner. He wanted to make this as quick as it could be.

“Wei Wuxian and I are engaged,” he said.

Lan Qingheng coughed and looked out the window, his expression unreadable. It was quiet for a heavy moment, then he looked back at Lan Zhan and said quietly, “Did you listen to anything I told you?”

Lan Zhan nodded. His hand shook in Wei Wuxian’s. “I was wrong,” he said. “I do love him. I just did not want to see it. There is no need to wait three years because I know what I want now.”

Lan Qingheng narrowed his eyes and looked between the two of them. “I’d like to speak with you separately,” he said. To Lan Zhan he continued, “You first.”

“I’ll uh, I’ll go wait back out there,” Wei Wuxian said. He got up but not before pressing a gentle kiss on Lan Zhan’s cheek, then walked out of the back room to wander around the shop.

“You were so reluctant to marry,” Lan Qingheng said.

“This is different. I trust him.” Lan Zhan’s voice quieted. “Daddy, I was blind.”

Lan Qingheng shifted in his spot and sighed. “But why marriage? Why can’t you wait?”

“Why must I wait?” Lan Zhan asked.

Lan Qingheng closed his eyes for a few seconds. “You’re not pregnant, are you?” he asked.

Lan Zhan shook his head. “I am not,” he said. “I won’t be having children any time soon if I can help it.”

Lan Qingheng leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

“You told me that marriage is supposed to feel like coming home,” Lan Zhan continued. “Wei Wuxian feels like home to me.”

Lan Qingheng was quiet for a long, heavy minute. Lan Zhan fidgeted with his hands in his lap and ran them over the silk of his robes. “Give it a year,” his father finally said. “That will give us plenty of time to prepare. I will pay for the wedding. If you want to marry sooner than that then you will have to do so without my help. Likewise if you get pregnant in that time frame.”

Lan Zhan stood up and went around the table. He crouched down and hugged Lan Qingheng. “Thank you, Daddy,” he said.

“You haven’t put yourself on my good side, bunny rabbit,” he replied.

“Okay,” Lan Zhan said. It was worth it, in his opinion.

“Go outside and bring Wei Wuxian in here,” Lan Qingheng said.

Lan Zhan nodded and went back to the front of the store. He sought out Wei Wuxian and stood close to him, resting his cheek on his shoulder. “He’ll pay for the wedding next year,” he said.

“So… that’s a good sign, right?” Wei Wuxian said, taking Lan Zhan into his arms. He pressed another kiss to the top of his head and squeezed him tightly.

Lan Zhan nodded. His father wasn't _happy_ but it was a good sign. He enjoyed the tight hug; he always loved when Wei Wuxian squeezed him like that. "He wants to talk to you," he said.

“I wanted to talk to him as well, so it works out for me,” Wei Wuxian said. He cupped Lan Zhan’s cheeks and kissed him briefly before pulling away. He smiled. “I’ll be back soon.”

With that, he strolled back into the back room where Lan Qingheng was waiting for him. “You wanted to talk, sir.”

His assistant had already been making tea, so Lan Qingheng had brought it to the table once it was done. He needed it to help clear his thoughts.

"I wanted to hear your side of things," he said as he poured himself a cup. It was bad manners, but he didn’t think Wei Wuxian wanted to be there long, so he just gestured to the tea to let him know he could have some if he wanted.

“Well… Let’s start from the beginning. I overheard you talking to Lan Zhan that night I stayed here. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I got up to get some water and I heard my name so…” Wei Wuxian said as he sat down. “You were right. He broke my heart. I want… someone I can settle down with. I wanted to eventually marry someone and have kids. Lan Zhan just… wanted to sleep with me. But it felt like we were getting closer, like he was starting to trust me and I… thought maybe something was changing. Then, I heard him talk to you. And it crushed me. I didn’t want to admit at the time but by then, I already knew I loved him. He’s smart and kind and so talented… Of course, beautiful as well. After our trip here, I was ready to try and move on. Stop sleeping together. I had plans to move out west and apprentice under a mage. I wrote Lan Zhan a goodbye letter and… before I could get too far out of the gates of the University, Lan Zhan chased out after me. He cried and told me he loved me, he didn’t want me to go. Who was I to say to no to that? I had always loved that, it hadn’t changed, at the time I was hoping that moving away from him would help me… forget. But I wasn’t over it. I didn’t know if I should believe him so I… I asked him to marry me. I thought, if he really meant it, he would say yes to something that he…was a little afraid of. It showed me just how much he trusted me…”

Lan Qingheng brooded over his tea while he listened. It was unexpected that Lan Zhan would do such a thing, but he supposed that it wasn't the most surprising thing in the world. Lan Zhan had seemed very distressed during and after their conversation the month prior. "Tell me about your family, Wei Wuxian," he said.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips and fidgeted nervously where he sat. “My birth parents were rogue mages but they… were killed when I was young. They were friends with the Jiang family, specifically head of the Jiang house, Jiang Fengmian. I lived on the streets for a little while after my parents passed away until Jiang Fengmian found me and took me in. He adopted me as his own son and I grew up there with them,” he said.

Lan Qingheng raised his eyebrows. "I have heard of them," he said. "They are quite influential down south. I assume this will be shocking news to them, since the last time they saw you, you did not even know Lan Zhan existed."

“Hahaha yes…well… I wrote a letter to them a few weeks ago that will have arrived by now, telling them that I had big news to break when I got there for the break. I intended to tell them that I was moving out west but now… now it’ll be about Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Qingheng nodded slowly. He thought for a moment, then he said, "How do you know that this is something you want for the rest of your life?" he asked. "They say passion does not last forever."

“I don’t,” Wei Wuxian answered flatly. “I don’t think anyone knows that, whether they’ve known their mate three months or three years. Some people fall out of love ten years into marriage. I can’t sit here and honestly tell you that Lan Zhan and I will… be the same way forever, but it’s a chance that I’m willing to take. I have a good feeling about it and I… would not change a thing about Lan Zhan. I love him.”

That was the same sort of thing Lan Qingheng would have said as a teenager. But not all teenage alphas were as stupid as he had been. Wei Wuxian didn't look eighteen, either.

"How old are you?" he asked. "And what is your relationship like with the Jiangs? Will they want to participate in the wedding?"

“I’m twenty and I’m… not sure. My brother, Jiang Wanyin, and my sister, Jiang Yanli, will definitely want to be a part of it. Uncle Jiang and Auntie Yu…I’m not sure. Maybe,” Wei Wuxian said honestly. “But I am going home to speak to them so I will find out how involved they want to be.”

Lan Qingheng nodded. "Okay," he said. "I told Lan Zhan I would pay for your wedding upon two conditions, that you have it at the earliest during summer break next year and that Lan Zhan does _not_ get pregnant before then. I will also cover the dowry."

“We’ve been careful up until now and… next summer is fine,” Wei Wuxian said with a nod back. “Thank you. You didn’t have to offer anything, you had the right to be mad at us too.”

"Do not be mistaken, I am not happy," Lan Qingheng said. "I am wary of Lan Zhan's behavior and I fear he is going through a phase. He never had those as a teenager. It is very unlike him to directly defy my wishes. But I know that my brother will refuse to sponsor a wedding this soon, and I do not want you to elope. So I will meet you in the middle."

“Well. Thank you for that anyway,” Wei Wuxian said. “I hope we will only prove to you that we want to be together and that we love each other.”

Lan Qingheng nodded. "Only time will tell," he said. "But I do wish you happiness. Lan Zhan especially deserves a better marriage than the one he grew up witnessing. I just hope that he does not take after either of us."

Wei Wuxian stood up from the seat and brushed himself off. “Do you want me to bring him back in?”

Lan Qingheng finished off his tea and stood up as well. "No need," he said.

He went back to the front of the store and saw Lan Zhan in the corner of the room that held the... recreational potions. They were all protected by glass and a barrier since they were expensive and in high demand; Lan Qingheng wondered if Lan Zhan really was going through a phase.

"Browsing?" he asked as he approached.

Lan Zhan jumped and turned around, looking like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "No," he said.

Wei Wuxian walked over to Lan Zhan and took his hand, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. He glanced at the potions behind the glass. “What are these?” he asked.

"Nothing," Lan Zhan said. He kissed Wei Wuxian to distract him and pulled him to another part of the store.

"How long will you be in the Capitol?" Lan Qingheng asked.

"Not much longer," Lan Zhan said. "We are going to Yunmeng. We came here to tell you."

"Oh," Lan Qingheng said. "Well I suppose I won't be bringing you back here this month? Perhaps your brother will finally accept my invitation this time."

“We were planning on grabbing something to eat and then getting back on the carriage towards Yunmeng,” Wei Wuxian said, easily distracted by Lan Zhan.

"Well I won't hold you any longer," Lan Qingheng said.

Lan Zhan looked at Wei Wuxian. "Can you go find Jiang Wanyin?" he asked. "I want to show Daddy something before we leave."

“Okay. I’ll go find him and then meet you outside of the shop, alright?” Wei Wuxian said. He gave Lan Zhan a quick kiss before he left to find Jiang Wanyin.

As soon as he was gone, Lan Zhan went back to the corner of the room he had been in before.

Now Lan Qingheng was curious. "You really are browsing," he said.

"I want to get him something," Lan Zhan explained, looking a little defensive.

"These are expensive," Lan Qingheng said.

"I have money," Lan Zhan said. "I started selling my services to flower and produce vendors in Gusu last week. I got some work yesterday as well."

"Congratulations," Lan Qingheng said. "Which one do you want?"

Lan Zhan had been browsing through the selection earlier while Wei Wuxian had been talking with his father. He wasn't sure which ones Wei Wuxian would prefer. He seemed to be the adventurous type, so he was tempted to go for the strongest one, the kind that made the world morph and turn pretty colors for a little while. But that might be too overwhelming, and he wanted to make sure Wei Wuxian had fun. He picked a mellower kind as well as a giggle potion. The giggle potion was best taken in small amounts, so one bottle would be plenty. The other one, locally called 'green bliss,' was sold in individual vials. He bought four of them, though he wasn't sure he would drink one. He had never taken recreational potions before, other than a tiny bit of a giggle potion once. He wrapped them in his own clothes in his bag before he paid for them at the counter. It took the majority of his savings, but he was already thinking about going around the Capitol and making some more before they left.

Wei Wuxian found Jiang Wanyin browsing at a few open market stalls. He ran up to him and wrapped his arms around him, making the other man flinch and shout.

“Wei Wuxian!” he cursed. Then, he took a deep breath and peeled Wei Wuxian from his body as he laughed. “Are you two finally done in there?”

“Yep! Did you buy anything?” he asked, trying to get a peek into Jiang Wanyin’s bag.

Jiang Wanyin quickly pulled his bag away from him. “Doesn’t matter. Where’s your little mate or whatever?”

“We’re gonna meet himself outside the potion shop, come on,” Wei Wuxian said, dragging Jiang Wanyin along until they reached the outside of the shop.

Lan Zhan hugged his father and then left the store to wait for the alphas just outside the door. When he saw them he walked toward them. “I would like to earn money here before we leave,” he said to Wei Wuxian. “You can help me work faster. And perhaps you could speak to the vendors for me?”

So far he had done all of the selling himself, quietly going up to flower and fruit vendors to offer his services. But Wei Wuxian seemed like he was much better at talking to people, and back home he had an advantage that everyone knew him as a Lan. Now, he was a little more nervous about approaching someone out of nowhere and asking to be paid to make their wares more valuable.

“Sure! We can use the money we earn to pay for food,” Wei Wuxian said with a happy hum, just thinking about the incoming meal was enough to make him eager. He turned to look at Jiang Wanyin. “You’ve never seen Lan Zhan’s magic before, have you?”

“No,” Jiang Wanyin said, shaking his head.

“Allow him to amaze you!” Wei Wuxian said. He turned to Lan Zhan. “Do you want to start now?”

Lan Zhan nodded and looked around. It was the central square, so any shops around were of the very best. His father was a wealthy man for a reason. These would probably be the most difficult merchants to please, but he was willing to try. And with Wei Wuxian’s help, his magic was always amazing.

Wei Wuxian took Lan Zhan’s hand and guided him around each of the shops selling fruit or flowers, Jiang Wanyin trailing behind them. He knew that he had a charming tongue and it was an easy win for any shops that had pretty young omega women – just a cheery smile and a flirtatious tone was enough to convince them to let Lan Zhan work some magic. Of course, there were some that were stubborn and kicked them to the curb, but the overwhelming majority were positive and hesitantly willing to allow them to show what they had to offer. Some even asked Lan Zhan if he would come back.

Wei Wuxian threw a heavy pouch of money up and down as they walked out of the central square. “Well! That went well,” he said. “What do you want to eat, Lan Zhan? You should get to pick since you earned us all this money.”

Lan Zhan hummed as he searched around. He had secretly spent most of his money earlier, so he didn’t want to get anything too expensive to eat. He found the cheapest food stand on the block, though due to the location it was still a little pricey. He got a small meal with chicken and noodles. He kept the orange peels from the day before in his bag so he could gradually regrow those on the road. Someday he would get sick of oranges and move onto another fruit, but for now he loved them.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin both picked out a spicy meal from the stall and once they had eaten them, they headed back to the carriage. As usual, Wei Wuxian helped Lan Zhan into the back and they sat together.

It was still a long way to Yunmeng.


	25. Meeting the Parents

The trip there took about a week. Lan Zhan spent the majority of it sleeping in Wei Wuxian's lap. The times when he couldn't sleep, he asked Wei Wuxian to tell him stories to pass the time. He had never traveled for this long before, and it wasn't nearly as exciting as he had hoped it would be. It was made better by being able to sit in Wei Wuxian's lap, though.

He started to get antsy when they neared Yunmeng. He hadn't given a whole lot of thought until then about what it was going to be like meeting Wei Wuxian's family. He wasn't exactly the kind of omega people wanted their alpha child bringing home. Sure, he was quiet and pretty and well-educated, but he was also awkward and rude -- even when he wasn't intending to be so. He didn't know how to act like a good omega. He kept these thoughts to himself as they got closer to the city. Lotus Pier was somewhere past this, he knew.

The thing that bothered him the most, though, something that he truly didn't know if he could handle, was the _heat._ He had stopped sitting in Wei Wuxian's lap and even sleeping against him because he was so easily overheated by his own body, let alone someone else's. He had apologized to Jiang Wanyin before stripping down to his inner robes, unable to handle wearing more than that.

Once they left the city and were ten or so minutes away from Lotus Pier, he pulled the curtains on the carriage and changed out of his inner robe and put on a dudou instead, followed by a lavender outer robe. It was partly to show respect to the Jiang family by wearing their colors, but also because the lavender wouldn't show his dudou underneath the way a white robe would.

He would have to figure out how to dress in a way that wouldn't have him sweating buckets. For now, the single thin silk layer was cool enough. He did feel a little too exposed just because of his arms being bare under the wide sleeves (when he usually wore a tight sleeved inner robe) but he wasn't willing to wear anything more than that. He wished he could tie his hair up. He might ask Wei Wuxian to braid it or something later.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin had long since abandoned their jackets when they started to approach Yunmeng. They were much more accustomed to the heat than Lan Zhan was after living in Lotus Pier for most and all of their lives.

As per usual, there was a feminine figure waiting for their arrival at the pier. Jiang Yanli was a sweet, young omega and the older sister of Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin. She smiled wide when she saw the two boys get out of the carriage which soon morphed into a questioning look when Wei Wuxian didn’t immediately barrel into her arms but instead, helped another man out of the carriage that she had never seen before.

“Jiejie!” he called out, waving frantically.

Now, that was the Wei Wuxian she knew. She giggled as Wei Wuxian came running over, Jiang Wanyin close behind. Wei Wuxian was happy to scoop her up in his arms with a spinning hug, making her laugh harder. “I’m happy to see you too A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli said fondly when Wei Wuxian finally put her down. She cupped Wei Wuxian’s cheeks in her hands to admire him before a moment before she turned to look at Jiang Wanyin. “You as well, A-Cheng.”

Jiang Wanyin grumbled a little at the fond use of his birth name but he hugged his sister regardless. “I’m happy to see you as well A-Jie.”

It was then that Jiang Yanli happily turned her attention to Lan Zhan. “So, who’s this you’ve brought home?” she asked.

Wei Wuxian grinned wider and grabbed Lan Zhan’s hand, pulling him over to stand at his side. He really hoped that Jiang Yanli would like Lan Zhan and vice versa. But wasn’t it impossible to hate Jiang Yanli? She was just so nice. “I sent a letter that I had important news,” he said. He squeezed Lan Zhan’s hand. “Jiejie, this is Lan Zhan. He’s my mate. And… And we’re going to get married!”

“Married? A-Xian…!” Jiang Yanli sounded scandalised. Now Lan Zhan was this close, she caught a whiff of his omega scent. Well, it was rare to see a male omega, that was for sure.

“Yeah, he’s nuts,” Jiang Wanyin grumbled.

Wei Wuxian scratched the back of his neck. “I realise how this sounds but I love him! But obviously we couldn’t marry until he’s met my family! Ah, and don’t worry, the wedding won’t be until next summer at the earliest. I want to ease Uncle Jiang and Auntie Yu into the idea of it first so don’t say anything just yet, okay?”

“Okay. If you’re sure,” Jiang Yanli said with a sigh. She shook her head then resumed her bright smile. She held out her hand towards Lan Zhan. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Lan Zhan. It’ll be good to have another omega around. Gods only know that these two can be a handful sometimes.”

Lan Zhan felt unbelievably awkward. Jiang Yanli seemed like the perfect omega so far, bright and bubbly and polite. Not too loud like Su Ming. He stared at her hand and felt nervous. He didn't like touching people other than Wei Wuxian. He decided to put his hands together and bow in greeting, hoping that she wouldn't take it too offensively.

“Sorry, he’s not too touchy. Unless it’s me of course,” Wei Wuxian said. He leaned in and gave Lan Zhan a kiss on the cheek.

Jiang Yanli only giggled and let her arm swing back by her side. She bowed back at him just as he had done. “It’s quite alright,” she said. “So, you come from Gusu then? This heat must have come a quite a shock to you, huh? I doubt you’re as shameless as these two boys here, they’ll both strip to the waist and walk around in the heat.”

“ _A-Jie_ ,” Jiang Wanyin huffed.

“Do you have any light clothes? If not, I’m pretty sure we have some spare sets of lightweight clothes that would fit your slight build,” Jiang Yanli continued.

Lan Zhan nodded gratefully. "I would appreciate it," he said. He would go buy some fabric and make his own, but they would only be there for about two weeks. He might try to find some fabric that was as close to his skin color as he could get, so he could at least make a dudou to wear under a white robe without it showing.

“Do you mind if I borrow him then, A-Xian?” Jiang Yanli posed the question to Wei Wuxian. “You boys can move in all your things while I get Lan Zhan some lighter clothes, hm?” Wei Wuxian turned to look at Lan Zhan. “If that’s okay with you.”

Lan Zhan nodded and pulled his bag off his shoulders so he could hand it to Wei Wuxian. He at least hoped that the clothes they had were soft; he had only ever worn silk, and he could barely handle anything else.

Wei Wuxian took the bag from him with a smile. He leaned in to steal another quick kiss before he headed back to the carriage with Jiang Wanyin to grab some more of their things to take inside.

“Come with me,” Jiang Yanli said. She guided Lan Zhan inside the house and through the halls, heading towards one of the storage rooms in the back where they kept spare sets of clothes. While they walked, she spoke softly. “It’s nice that A-Xian has found someone. How long have you two been together now?”

The house was very nice, Lan Zhan noticed. He hadn't been sure of what to expect, but he liked how big it was. The question caught him off guard, however. Gods, how was he supposed to answer this? It wasn't like he could just say that he had been sleeping with Wei Wuxian for most of the semester but didn't actually start getting romantically involved until a week prior. That was improper. Ears flushed, he rubbed his arms and said, "It is complicated. A few months.”

Jiang Yanli didn’t pry. She simply nodded and then shut the door behind them when they reached the storage room. “You’re quite tall, aren’t you?” she said idly as she rummaged through the sets of clothes.

"Mm." Lan Zhan folded his hands in front of him. "It is okay if you cannot find anything. I can make do."

“No, it’s alright. I think we have something,” Jiang Yanli said. Eventually, she found what she was looking for. It was a pair of loose black pants, a thin white inner robe cut short and an equally thin purple outer robe that was just as short. “Here. They’re plenty airy on your skin and you can roll up the sleeves and the pants if you’re too warm or going in the water. There’s a privacy screen over there if you want to change.”

These were definitely thinner than what Lan Zhan had. He thanked her quietly and took the clothes behind the screen so he could change. They weren't quite as soft as what he was used to and he was sure they were going to bother him at least a little, but it wasn't too bad, especially since they were nice and loose. The purple was darker than the lavender he had on before, and the robes only reached his thighs, which was new. It reminded him a little of his work clothes. He returned with his folded clothes in his hands.

"Thank you," he said again.

“Have you ever been this far from Gusu before? I know it takes quite a long time to get to Yunmeng from there,” Jiang Yanli asked casually. She took the folded clothes and put them in a nearby wooden basket to be washed later.

Lan Zhan shook his head. "I have only been a day's journey from the college," he said. It was always his father who took him places, though they didn't go nearly as far as this. He had always wondered what it was like further away. It was already so much different just from the outside environment.

“I’m not surprised you were unprepared for the heat then,” Jiang Yanli said. She laughed a little. “Say, Lan Zhan, would you like to help me prepare dinner? My parents are out right now but they’ll be back to eat. I’m sure A-Xian is intending to introduce you to them then, but in the meantime…”

Lan Zhan blinked a few times, then nodded. He was glad that he had been so involved with the cooks at the college due to his life magic, otherwise he would have no idea how to cook. His mother had never went out of her way to teach him since he always balked at the idea. Why cook when someone else can cook for you? But over the years he had enjoyed helping the staff make desserts and washing the produce for them. He had learned quite a bit through observation. And the past month or so he had experimented a few times in the kitchen with his life magic to try and make things taste different. Maybe he could do so again.

Jiang Yanli smiled wider and guided him through the halls again, towards the kitchen. She began pulling out ingredients and gave Lan Zhan instructions on what he could be doing to help. “Food from Yunmeng is quite different from Gusu,” she said.

"Mm." Lan Zhan inspected the ingredients carefully. He had never worked with most of these, though he recognized some from the gardens in the Capitol. He might have to bring some back with him and start cultivating them in the greenhouse for the cooks to use. He decided to risk tasting a tiny piece of one of the peppers, only to put his hand over his mouth while his eyes watered. That was a lot hotter than what he was used to.

Jiang Yanli noticed him do so out of the corner of her eye and giggled. “See? I told you,” she said.

Lan Zhan wrinkled his nose a little. He took a loquat from the bowl of them and munched on it to get the spicy taste out of his mouth.

"Wei Wuxian likes spicy food," he said quietly.

He held up the pepper and furrowed his brow in deep thought. Could he make this pepper even spicier? His experiments so far had only been working with fruits and vegetables, things that had sweet or neutral tastes. He could usually accent these kinds of tastes, especially sweetness. He had even made a potato taste very sweet. If he tried his magic on the pepper, would it accent the original flavor or somehow make it taste sweeter? He hummed.

“Mhmm. He does. Both him and his brother but A-Xian is particularly fond of spices and chilies. Don’t ever let him in the kitchen though, believe me, he’s absolutely hopeless,” Jiang Yanli said. “So honestly, it’s nice to have someone in the kitchen with me who isn’t going to mess things up.”

Lan Zhan set the pepper back down. "Perhaps I am not an improvement," he said absently. He should probably not experiment when cooking for Wei Wuxian's family. Sure, it could end up tasting amazing, but also... other things might happen too.

“Aw don’t be silly. You’re doing fine,” Jiang Yanli said. She hummed to herself as they kept preparing the ingredients and then put them in the pot. As she stirred, she spoke again: “So, are you and A-Xian really getting married?”

Lan Zhan stood around awkwardly now that he wasn't sure what to do. He had really only prepared things for the cooks before, not actually done the cooking. "Yes," he said. "Is there something else I can do?" He didn't know if they were making anything other than soup. He had kneaded bread dough before, and heated up things over the stove...

“There should be some bread I prepared earlier over there. Could you slice it for me?” Jiang Yanli said, gesturing loosely in the direction of the bread. “And what made you two decide to get married?”

Lan Zhan retrieved the bread and got a knife from where he'd seen Jiang Yanli getting the utensils. He carefully sliced the bread while he spoke. "He was going to leave and not return," he said. "He had an opportunity elsewhere. I decided that I did not want to let him go anywhere without me."

Jiang Yanli smiled and nodded as she looked down into the pot she was stirring. That did sound like her Wei Wuxian but it seemed that Lan Zhan was a nice fit for him. “Well, I’m glad you’re both happy,” she said.

Lan Zhan hummed. He knew it was probably shocking, since they had never heard of him before and now he was being brought into the family like this. He finished slicing the bread and asked, "Would it be okay if I made a dessert?"

“Of course! What did you have in mind?” Jiang Yanli asked. She was eager to learn as much about Lan Zhan as she could but she didn’t want to pry too much or push him just in case he was uncomfortable.

"I can make a pie if you have the ingredients," Lan Zhan said. He went over to where Jiang Yanli had gotten the spices and he inspected them. They had cinnamon, which was good. He had a couple of apples in his bag that he could revitalize. "Do you have apples in this part of the world?"

Jiang Yanli laughed. “Yes, we have apples here. They thrive quite well in the heat, we have some trees out back. Have a look in the fruit bowl, it’s on your right.”

That made sense. It was difficult to keep the apple trees alive in the fall up in Gusu. Lan Zhan went over to the fruit bowl and picked the loquats off the top, and found some apples underneath. He took them out and laid them on the counter, then he went about finding the ingredients he would need. Desserts were really the only thing he was confident in his ability to make. And he knew he could enhance the apples' taste, since he had worked with apples before. He would make the Jiangs the best apple pie they had ever eaten.

Whilst she stirred, Jiang Yanli watched Lan Zhan out the corner of her eye. He sure worked dutifully and he was so pretty as well. No wonder that Wei Wuxian was so enamoured with him. “Do you like making desserts?” she asked.

"Mm." Lan Zhan was currently holding an apple in his hands and pushing his magic into it. It was difficult to tell what was working when he worked with taste, though the apples were turning a deeper red in his hands. It was a side-effect of enhancing taste -- usually the color sort of changed too. He sliced off a little piece and ate it. Satisfied with the result, he continued on. "It is the only food I know how to cook by myself," he admitted.

“I’m sure A-Xian loves that,” Jiang Yanli said. “Don’t let him get too complacent though or he’ll never stop asking you for things.”

Lan Zhan had actually never made Wei Wuxian food before, if he didn’t count the pieces of fruit he had grown and handed to him. It made this feel special in a way. It would be his first gift to Wei Wuxian, wouldn’t it? He hadn’t yet shown him the potions he had hidden in his bag.

“He can ask me,” he said, and he meant it.

“I take it you are at the University as well then. How did you and two meet? I know A-Xian is very much a people person but I didn’t expect him to find a mate so quickly, not after all the years of my mother setting him up with girls,” Jiang Yanli said.

“My uncle is the headmaster,” Lan Zhan said. “Wei Wuxian was... persistent.”

He remembered the early days in the semester, back when he truly didn’t give a shit about Wei Wuxian — or at least that’s what he had told himself. He wished he could smack himself from back then.

That wasn’t surprising to hear. Wei Wuxian had always had a knack for inserting himself in people’s lives and forcing them to be his friend. “Sounds like him,” Jiang Yanli replied.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan mixed the dough ingredients together and felt another pant of guilt. He had felt a lot of guilt over the past month, but it was worse lately. Maybe that was part of why he wanted to give Wei Wuxian gifts. He wanted to make up for the time he had hurt him.

Jiang Yanli glanced at him. “Forgive me but… are there many male omegas in Gusu? We don’t see them often here. In fact, I have never actually met one until you came along.”

“There is a professor,” Lan Zhan said. “And one who is married to a farmer in Gusu. I visit them sometimes.”

“Wow,” Jiang Yanli replied. She hummed and looked back down into the pot. When she spoke, it was quiet, more mumbling to herself than anything. “Maybe that’s where mother went wrong then. A-Xian was after a man instead.”

Lan Zhan thought about that. Wei Wuxian had no problem flirting with omega girls, sometimes to his annoyance. But he hadn’t actually been that forward with Lan Zhan, not until Lan Zhan had made it abundantly clear he wanted to get in bed with him. Either way, he was glad Wei Wuxian chose him.

“He doesn’t seem to be someone who needs help,” he said. “Women are fond of him.”

“Women are fond of who?” Wei Wuxian appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against the frame with a bemused expression.

Jiang Yanli turned around to look at him and huffed, shaking her head. “A-Xian, it’s rude to eavesdrop,” she scolded lightly.

Wei Wuxian puffed his cheeks out in a pout. “Sorry jiejie.” Even so, it didn’t stop him from walking over and peering over Lan Zhan’s shoulder to see what he was doing. Whatever was happening here, it smelt very good.

Lan Zhan had seen a lot of Wei Wuxian lately, but that didn’t make his heart any less frantic when he heard his voice. He turned his head to give him a kiss when he looked over his shoulder. “Hello,” he said.

“Mmm yes a very happy hello to you too. Are there more kisses where that came from?” Wei Wuxian teased, a smirk pulling on his lips.

Jiang Yanli respectfully looked away. Despite knowing him for so long, she would never truly get used to Wei Wuxian’s shamelessness.

“Perhaps tonight,” Lan Zhan whispered quietly, only audible to the two of them. He turned back to the dough and started to roll it out on the counter.

“Hmm, you’re such a tease,” Wei Wuxian mumbled back, putting his hands on Lan Zhan’s hips and resting his chin on his shoulder.

“A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli’s voice made him jump. “Did you prepare the guest room for Lan Zhan?”

Wei Wuxian huffed. “He can stay with me, can’t he?”

“I’m not sure if mother will agree,” she replied.

Lan Zhan blinked in surprise. Guest room? He looked at Jiang Yanli, then at Wei Wuxian, his eyes wide and disbelieving. Not even his strict uncle would do such a thing. They were officially _engaged._ He wanted to ask who Wei Wuxian’s mother thought she was, but he held his tongue.

“’m sorry. We can spend as much time as you want together in your room when we get back to campus,” Wei Wuxian said pitifully.

Lan Zhan continued to stare at Wei Wuxian intensely. Was he serious? Was he really going to put Lan Zhan in a guest room? He eventually relented and turned back to his work with a sigh. “You can move in with me,” he said.

“Really? Oh I won’t bother taking my things back to my room then, I’ll just take them straight to yours when we get back,” Wei Wuxian said, suddenly perking up. “Will your Uncle be okay with that?”

Lan Zhan hummed. “I do not know,” he said. “He might say no if I ask. So I will not ask.”

Wei Wuxian lowered his voice to speak to Lan Zhan. “Maybe we’ll do the same here then. We just… won’t say anything and you can come back to my room with me tonight.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Jiang Yanli said.

Lan Zhan smiled. He usually didn’t go against the rules like this — not in a way that could be caught, at least. Maybe Wei Wuxian was rubbing off on him. “Okay,” he whispered, then gave him another kiss. “Now go away, I am making you something.”

“I eagerly await,” Wei Wuxian mumbled in reply. He smiled wide and then gave Jiang Yanli a nod before he sauntered off to find Jiang Wanyin.

“You two are sweet,” Jiang Yanli commented.

Lan Zhan blushed a little. He had somewhat gotten used to Wei Wuxian’s affections in front of other people thanks to spending a week in a carriage with him and his brother. “He means much to me,” he said softly. It was probably the most earnest thing he had said so far.

“Mm, I can see it in your eyes,” Jiang Yanli said fondly. She giggled. “I’ve never seen him as complacent as he is with you either.”

Lan Zhan started peeling and cutting the apples. “How so?” he asked curiously. He didn’t really see Wei Wuxian interact with people outside of their families.

“You told him to go away and he did, no questions asked. He’s pretty whiny and doesn’t like people telling him what to do,” Jiang Yanli said with a hint of affection. “And he looks at you like you’ve got the stars in your eyes. It’s very cute. I can already tell just looking at the two of you just then.”

Lan Zhan purred quietly. He hadn’t even thought about that when he’d told him to go away. Really, how did he get this lucky? With his own awful behavior, he should have driven Wei Wuxian away long ago, and he never would have found real happiness.

The two of them resumed making dinner. Jiang Yanli continued to prod a little at Lan Zhan’s relationship with Wei Wuxian and his life back in Gusu until eventually everything was prepared and ready.

Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian returned to the house shortly after, mumbling amongst themselves before they were confronted by Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian.

“Boys,” Jiang Fengmian said fondly. He smiled at them. “Nice to see you home.”

Both Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian bowed respectfully. “Uncle Jiang, Auntie Yu,” Wei Wuxian spoke up, addressing both of them. “I told you that I had big news in the letter I sent. That big news comes in the form of a person. There will be an extra person joining us for dinner tonight.”

“Who?” Yu Ziyuan asked with narrowed eyes.

“My mate,” Wei Wuxian answered. Jiang Wanyin grumbled and looked off to the side. Wei Wuxian continued. “Lan Zhan? Can you come over here?”

Lan Zhan peeked into the room before he walked in to stand next to Wei Wuxian. He felt nervous and only briefly made eye contact before he bowed deeply to Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. It was acceptable not to say anything, right? Wasn’t there a saying about quiet omegas being the good omegas?

Wei Wuxian took Lan Zhan’s hand in his. “This is Lan Zhan,” he said. “We met at Gusu University and he is my mate. We’ve been together for… a few months. Kind of. It’s a little complicated. But we’re happy and in love and we want to get married.”

“A-Xian,” Jiang Fengmian said, slightly exasperated. “Wait a moment. Marriage?”

“Next summer,” Wei Wuxian clarified. “I asked him to marry me and he said yes.”

Both Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan turned to look at each other. They spoke mostly with their eyes, determining how each other felt about this. “You’re sure about this?” Jiang Fengmian asked.

Wei Wuxian answered with a nod.

Yu Ziyuan folded her arms over her chest. “I suppose the Lans have a reputation for producing strong, healthy children. But this is a _lot_ , Wei Wuxian. We will have to give this careful consideration, you understand? And you two have talked through this? All of the implications of marriage? Children?”

“Uh,” Wei Wuxian licked his lips nervously. “We’re working on it.”

Lan Zhan shifted a bit uncomfortably. Children were a tricky subject for him. He wanted it in theory, he wanted it _badly._ But when he actually sat down and _thought_ about it, it kind of terrified him. He was only twenty. He knew a lot of omegas were married and pregnant by eighteen, even younger, but mages often lived longer than the general public. He wasn’t too old to wait. But he didn’t voice any of this; he kept his eyes averted and waited patiently.

“You said Lan Zhan will be joining us for dinner?” Jiang Fengmian asked.

Wei Wuxian nodded. “He’s staying with us over break.”

Once again, Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan shared a look and then Yu Ziyuan sighed. She started walking towards the dining room.

“Let’s go, before the food gets cold, hm?” Jiang Fengmian said before following his wife.

Lan Zhan lightly squeezed Wei Wuxian’s hand. He wondered what they thought about Wei Wuxian marrying a male omega. They didn’t seem very happy, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the surprise of it or Lan Zhan’s gender. While it was acceptable for male alphas and omegas to marry, it wasn’t exactly _normal._ The gossipy, classier type sometimes considered it tacky or unfortunate on the alpha’s side. He wondered if Wei Wuxian’s parents thought he could do better...

It didn’t matter, he reminded himself. Wei Wuxian loved him, he wouldn’t change his mind just for his family, just like Lan Zhan wouldn’t either.

“I made you something,” he said quietly, leaning against Wei Wuxian as they walked. “I will bring it out when I bring the pie out after dinner.”

“You didn’t have to but thank you,” Wei Wuxian mumbled back. He pressed a kiss on his cheek. The family settled down at the table once the meal was brought out. Silence fell amongst them as they dug into their dishes. Jiang Fengmian was first to break the silence. “So Lan Zhan, you study at Gusu University?” he asked.

Lan Zhan set down his utensils while he swallowed and then spoke. “I earned a degree in healing three years ago,” he said. “Now I am currently doing independent research on life magic.”

“Life magic, huh? That’s not something you hear very often. It’s rather impressive, isn’t it?” Jiang Fengmian said, directing his last question towards Yu Ziyuan who simply made an uncommitted noise.

“It’s very impressive in action!” Wei Wuxian said.

Under his breath, Jiang Wanyin mumbled: “Oh here we go.” It earned him a light shove from Jiang Yanli in the seat next to him.

“Lan Zhan is very talented, he’s shown me magic that I’ve never seen before! But not only is it incredible, it will surely be profitable in the future too,” Wei Wuxian continued.

Jiang Fengmian hummed and nodded. “Care to tell us a little, Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan looked at Wei Wuxian and then Jiang Fengmian and shifted a little in his seat. This was something he enjoyed talking about. He could talk about it for a long time if he had an interested audience. “Life magic is the internal manipulation of living things,” he said. “It is most commonly used with the cultivation of crops, and at the master level it is used in medicine with things such as flesh regrowth. If someone were to lose a hand, healing magic could heal the wound and rid of infection, but life magic could grow the hand back. There has been little research on the use of life magic with plants other than reports of mages using it to grow plants quickly during droughts and in bad soil. Plant and animal flesh is different in nature, so one must learn each independently. My current focus is on plants, but I hope to explore the medicinal side eventually.”

Jiang Fengmian looked genuinely interested while Wei Wuxian beamed with pride next to Lan Zhan. He was so proud of him, he loved how smart Lan Zhan was. “So, it is an investment in your future then?” Jiang Fengmian asked. “What do you plan to do once Wei Wuxian finishes studying?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “I can conduct my research anywhere,” he said. “There are multiple ways in which to make money with life magic, so I can shape my business on whatever lifestyle Wei Wuxian wishes to take. Recently I have started selling my services to vendors of flowers and produce. I can make flowers more vibrant and change their colors, and I can make produce taste more intensely. I have made an apple pie to have after dinner and I enhanced the apples’ taste. It should taste particularly sweet.”

"So that's what you were doing over there!" Jiang Yanli chimed in, noting how Lan Zhan had been fiddling with the apples in the kitchen earlier.

"I see," Jiang Fengmian said. He finished his meal and sat back in his chair whole everyone else continued. "You will make time for children, I presume?"

Lan Zhan nodded, pushing away his nervousness at the question. “My magic can be significantly sped up with Wei Wuxian’s help,” he said. “If we were to rely on my business, it would not take too much time out of the day if we worked together. This past month I have cared for an infant that belongs to my friend while I worked, and it did not cause problems.”

Jiang Fengmian seemed impressed. He made another humming noise as he thought about what Lan Zhan had said.

Wei Wuxian watched his expression anxious, seeking approval for his choice of mate even though he knew that even if they didn't approve, he would marry Lan Zhan anyway. "I have already spoken with Lan Zhan's family about the arrangement," he said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves A-Xian," Jiang Fengmian said. "We'll see how things play out for the rest of your time here."

Wei Wuxian huffed but nodded.

Lan Zhan was quiet for the rest of the meal, listening passively while the family talked. Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan seemed pretty insistent on Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian having children just from the things they had said so far. It was a little nerve-wracking. He wondered if they knew about his father having children and then leaving, and were judging Lan Zhan based on that. He wouldn’t blame them, really.

When everyone had finished their meal, Lan Zhan excused himself to the kitchen. He brought out the big pie first and heated it up with a warming spell, then he went back and got a miniature pie for Wei Wuxian and some cream. The pie was about the size of his palm. He heated it up and set it in front of Wei Wuxian before he sat down.

”You might not like it,” he said. “I tried something new.”

“Ooh, you made this one specifically for me? You’re so sweet,” Wei Wuxian cooed. He pulled Lan Zhan down for a kiss before he started to dig into the pie.

“You made this apple pie, Lan Zhan?” Jiang Fengmian spoke. “It is very good.”

The kiss made Lan Zhan’s ears burn. He nodded and got himself a small slice and poured some cream on it. Each bite was full of intense flavor, made even better with the cream. He was quite proud of himself. He watched Wei Wuxian carefully to see what he thought of the special one. He had added some peppers into it, after testing what he could do with them. As it turned out, enhancing the peppers actually made them sweeter, though they were still too hot for him to enjoy.

Wei Wuxian was pleasantly surprised to find that the special pie Lan Zhan had made for him had a delightful burn to it. He peeked inside to see the peppers but they didn’t taste like regular peppers. He’d done something to them. Either way, it was absolutely delicious and it didn’t take him long to eat it all. He didn’t even talk during the process.

“Lan Zhan, that was incredible!” he said when he finished. He licked his lips and grinned at him. “How do you manage to amaze me every time?”

Jiang Wanyin scoffed from the other end of the table.

Lan Zhan was pleased with himself. He made a note to try working with other kinds of spices too and see what he could do with them. “I will try to make different things so you can try them,” he said.

“You’re always welcome in the kitchen with me, Lan Zhan!” Jiang Yanli said in a chipper tone.

Jiang Wanyin abruptly got up from the table and gathered his plates to take into the kitchen. Wei Wuxian looked at him dubiously when he walked past and then looked at Lan Zhan.

“It’s good to know you enjoy cooking for A-Xian,” Jiang Fengmian said, seemingly pay no mind to Jiang Wanyin.

Lan Zhan felt that something was off, but he didn’t know what. Jiang Wanyin was acting differently than he had on the way to Lotus Pier. He shifted uncomfortably. “I do not know how to cook except to make desserts,” he admitted. “I will likely learn through my research, which involves working with tastes.”

“Ah, well, you are young, no? There is plenty of time,” Jiang Fengmian said. He glanced at Yu Ziyuan. “Right?”

“I suppose so,” she said.

Jiang Yanli cleared her throat and started to gather everyone’s empty dishes. She gave Wei Wuxian a pointed look and then turned to Lan Zhan when she had a stack of plates. “Lan Zhan, will you help me wash up?”

Lan Zhan nodded and stood up to help clear the table. The questions about children were one thing, but the topic of cooking on top of that made him anxious. He knew he wasn’t a good ‘housewife.’ He had never cared about that before, but now it made him self-conscious. He had never cooked a meal or cleaned anything other than his own room (and often he got help with that too). He still needed his mother’s help with getting stains out of things.

At least he knew how to sew, thanks to his interest in stuffed animals and altering clothes to fit him. That was one thing he had in his favor.

“I’ll uh, I’ll go check on Jiang Wanyin,” Wei Wuxian said. He got up from the table and scurried off to find where his brother had gone.

In the meantime, Jiang Yanli carried the dirty dishes to the kitchen and started to wash up. “My parents can be quite traditional,” she said. “Don’t take it to heart.”

Lan Zhan pressed his lips together. So she was aware of it too? He wondered how far that traditional mindset went. There was a stigma against educated and working omegas in some circles. Jiang Yanli wasn’t in school...

“Should I not mention my research?” he asked quietly.

“I think they were impressed enough with your apple pie to not care,” Jiang Yanli said. She giggled a little and reached over to rub Lan Zhan’s back. “It’s fine. The apple pie was amazing too, you know. They’ll have to come around eventually. Besides, they’ve got me. I cook and sew and… Well, I’m engaged to a younger master from LanlingJin.”

Lan Zhan nodded. “So they will not kill me if I don’t give them grandchildren?” he asked, only half joking.

Jiang Yanli did take it as a joke and she laughed. “No, I’m sure they won’t. But I do think A-Xian wants children. Have you two spoken about it?”

“A small amount,” Lan Zhan said. “I am unsure. I want a baby, but I do not think I could be a good mother. Or father.”

“No one knows how to be a good parent, Lan Zhan,” Jiang Yanli said softly. She finished washing the last plate and then dried off her hands so she could turn to look at Lan Zhan properly. “There isn’t a book out there that could fully prepare you for it. But regardless, I’m sure you and A-Xian would love a baby dearly and that’s all that matters really. Just, give it some thought, okay? And talk to A-Xian about it.”

That didn’t made Lan Zhan feel any better. But it didn’t make him feel worse, like when people told him he seemed like parent material. He nodded. “Okay,” he said.

Jiang Yanli smiled and nodded at him, giving him another pat on the back. “You’ll be just fine. I can tell that father likes you already.”

That meant he was doing _something_ right, at least. Lan Zhan nodded again. “I will go look at the garden if it is okay,” he said. He wanted to check out the plants, and it seemed like it would be a lot nicer if it was dark outside and not as hot.

“Sure. I’ll tell Wei Wuxian to go meet you out there when he’s finished talking to A-Cheng, if that’s okay?” Jiang Yanli suggested with a cock of her head.

“You do not have to,” Lan Zhan said. “But if he asks where I am you can tell him.” He turned and left the kitchen, making his way through the house to find the back door. It was a big house, but it wasn’t too difficult to find a way out.


	26. Sweeter Than a Chocolate Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies... I have officially started graduate school. The time I used to edit and post this chapter was time I _should_ have spent doing homework, but sacrifices must be made. Updates will unfortunately be sporadic as I procrastinate doing my work. Getting comments when it’s been a hot minute will encourage me to come back, though. So don’t feel bad asking for more!
> 
>  **TW:** Mentions of slave fantasy

As it turned out, Jiang Yanli would not need to tell Wei Wuxian where Lan Zhan was. Wei Wuxian’s conversation with Jiang Wanyin had quickly become heated, the two of them arguing with each other – well, more that Jiang Wanyin was yelling at him and he was trying to calm him down. It always ended up like this. The tensions were always high whenever they were at home together. Eventually, Jiang Wanyin had slammed the door in his face and Wei Wuxian had let out a deep breath. He needed to get some fresh air.

He wasn’t expecting to see Lan Zhan pondering over the flowers and trees in the gardens at the back of the house, presuming that he was still with his sister. “Lan Zhan?” he called out. “Hey, what are you doing out here?”

Lan Zhan glanced at him and then turned back to the tree he was looking at. “I wanted to see the plants,” he said. “They are different than those at home.”

Wei Wuxian hummed thoughtfully and then walked over to stand by his side. He put his hands on his hips. “Yeah. All the plants we have thrive better in our heat so…” he said.

Lan Zhan reached out to touch the leaves of a bush. “Their skin is not as tough,” he said. “It is more receptive to magic.” He glanced at him. “Is Jiang Wanyin okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian replied. He sighed. “Well, sort of. He yelled at me a lot and then slammed the door in my face so that’s why I came out here, for some fresh air. I didn’t expect to find you out here honestly. It’s always like this when we go home though. Honestly, it’s… part of the reason I wanted to go live far away, be it Gusu or whatever. I love seeing jiejie but… I don’t know. I put strain on the family. But I’m sure you don’t want to hear me drivel about that stuff haha…”

Lan Zhan could understand that. He sometimes thought about how things would be better for his family if he hadn’t been born. He moved closer and held onto Wei Wuxian’s arm and rested his chin on his shoulder.

“I know it’s hard for Jiang Wanyin,” Wei Wuxian said softly. He leaned his head on top of Lan Zhan’s and reached for his hand. “I can’t imagine what it must be like for your own father to… I just think he knows that there will be pressure on him soon to settle down with someone if they’re making assessments on you.”

“Shouldn’t two children marrying be enough?” Lan Zhan asked. He wondered if the ways in which he was lacking contributed to the problem at all. Or the fact that they wouldn’t be living in Lotus Pier in the long run.

Wei Wuxian shook his head. “Me marrying is different. I’m not… I’m not Jiang blood, you know? Uncle Jiang treats me like I am his son but Auntie Yu… does not hold me in the same favourable light, if you understand what I mean. And for jiejie, well, she’s an omega. She’s marrying a Jin so her children will carry the Jin name. Who’s left to carry the family name but Jiang Wanyin?”

Lan Zhan hummed. It made sense. “They probably want him to find a better omega,” he said.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Uncle Jiang has definitely taken a liking to you and I’m sure… I’m sure Auntie Yu doesn’t care less who I marry as long as it gets me out the house,” Wei Wuxian said with a huff. He wrapped his arm around Lan Zhan and squeezed him against his side. “If anything, you’re setting the standard incredibly high for Jiang Wanyin and he’s pissed off that I have found such an amazing mate haha.”

Lan Zhan grimaced a little. He felt bad for Jiang Wanyin. It hit a personal nerve, really, due to the similarities between their families. “Su Ming can cook,” he said. “But she talks so much that he might consider her to be a second Wei Wuxian.”

“Oh, I’d never stop teasing him for that,” Wei Wuxian said with a snort of laughter. He turned his head and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “He’ll be okay, I’m sure.”

Lan Zhan hummed. “Do they know about my father?” he asked, referring to Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. “It might affect their opinion of me.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t know anything about your family before I came to Gusu so… I’m not sure,” Wei Wuxian said.

“They will find out eventually,” Lan Zhan said. He sighed. “They seem concerned about me having children. My father feels differently.”

Wei Wuxian licked his lips nervously. This was a conversation he wasn’t sure how to approach. “I know you said those things when… before we came here… but I just want you to know that you don’t… you don’t _have_ to have children with me if you don’t want to. Though, you were _very_ cute with Hudie.”

Lan Zhan was quiet for a long moment, chewing on his bottom lip. “Let’s start with a rabbit,” he said eventually.

That made Wei Wuxian laugh a little. “Yeah. Okay. When we get back to Gusu, we’ll get a rabbit,” he said.

Lan Zhan smiled a little. “I’m tired,” he said. “Can we go to your room?”

“Mhm, do you want me to carry you?” Wei Wuxian asked with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. The idea of cuddling up with Lan Zhan every night for the next two weeks sounded heavenly.

Lan Zhan fought against a smile. The offer was tempting, but the thought of being caught by someone other than Jiang Wanyin was a little mortifying. “I can walk,” he said.

“Hold my hand then,” Wei Wuxian said. He wasn’t about to take no for an answer for that one so he reached down and grabbed Lan Zhan’s hand before started to walk in the direction of his room.

They were, however, stopped by Yu Ziyuan on the way there. Her sharp eyes glanced down at their joined hands and the direction they were headed.

“Wei Wuxian,” she said, making him jump and stop in his tracks. “I trust you are taking Lan Zhan to the guest room?”

 _Ah, shit._ “We’re _engaged_ ,” he whined. “Can’t he at least stay to talk for a little while? I want to show him my room. Then I’ll take him to the guest room, I promise.”

Yu Ziyuan was silent for a moment, folding her arms over her chest. “Fine,” she said. “I will ask A-Li to make sure he goes to the guest room.”

Wei Wuxian let out a sigh of relief. Jiang Yanli wouldn’t rat them out. She had pretended not to hear them earlier when discussing things. Truly, she was the best big sister in the world.

“Okay. Goodnight,” he said.

Yu Ziyuan didn’t reply. She simply turned on her heels and walked away.

Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Zhan. “Come on, let’s hurry.”

Lan Zhan stayed close to Wei Wuxian. He had kept his eyes averted the whole time, unsure of how to act. He was thankful that Yu Ziyuan left them alone; he sort of wanted to tell her that he’d been fucking Wei Wuxian for months and could do whatever he wanted. But that wouldn’t solve any problems.

Wei Wuxian dragged Lan Zhan to his room. He opened the door for him and let go of his hand so he could wander inside. It was the second biggest bedroom in the house, after the master bedroom for Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. Even so, it did not hold a candle to Lan Zhan’s room back at Gusu University. It was a simple bedroom, given that it was missing half of its items due to Wei Wuxian living elsewhere most of the time. Plus, it was actually clean and neat, something that wouldn’t stay that way for very long. His and Lan Zhan’s bags were strewn on the floor next to the bed. Wei Wuxian had already unpacked most of his things but Lan Zhan’s had been left alone.

“Here it is,” he said. “The bedroom I grew up in.”

Lan Zhan hummed. It was impressive, though he hadn’t been sure what to expect. He walked around and looked at what little items there were before he went to his bag and got Blue and his porn book. He hoped no one would come around and pry, though the book was pretty innocent looking from the outside. He settled down on the bed and started flipping through it.

At first, Wei Wuxian didn’t notice the book. He hummed as he took his hair out from the ponytail and started taking off his clothes until he was simply in a pair of sleeping shorts. Then, he climbed on the bed, and that was when he noticed what Lan Zhan was reading.

“Lan Zhan…!” he said, scandalised.

Lan Zhan moved the book away from him defensively. “It’s interesting,” he said. It really was interesting... at least as interesting as a porn book could get. There was actually something of a plot in it.

“I thought you were tired?” Wei Wuxian asked, sitting back on his haunches and cocking an eyebrow at the other man.

“I am,” Lan Zhan said. He _was_ pretty sleepy. He admired the page in front of him before turning to the next. “Perhaps I just want to read it.”

“Well, stop reading and give me the kisses you promised me earlier,” Wei Wuxian said with a pout. He flopped onto his stomach next to Lan Zhan, turning his head to look at him.

Lan Zhan looked at him with slight exasperation. He relented, setting the book down and rolling Wei Wuxian over to his back. He propped himself up on his elbow and leaned in to kiss him. He couldn’t deny the spark in his body, though he kept his kisses tame.

Wei Wuxian made a content noise as he reached up to cup Lan Zhan’s cheeks and kiss him back. It was nice to be at peace like this, away from the chaos of being on the road while they were travelling back. When they finally parted, Wei Wuxian took a quiet, deep breath and smiled.

Lan Zhan gave him a soft smile in return and then sat back up so he could go back to his book. It really was nice to be here rather than in an inn. He felt like they had a little more privacy without people all around.

Wei Wuxian turned onto his side and wrapped his arm around Lan Zhan’s thighs. He nuzzled up to him with a light croon, resting his face against his stomach and closing his eyes.

Lan Zhan put a hand on his head and pet him idly while he read. He ended up getting bored with the book after a little while and got ready for bed. It was still early, but he really was tired. He kind of wanted to wake up before everyone else, too. He felt conflicted about a lot of things, but he told himself that it wasn’t too bad. He had Wei Wuxian, and that was all that mattered.

He did wake up early, of course. He was going to have to wash up really well, since he had spent most of the night sweating. He hated this heat. Maybe he really would start sleeping in the guest bedroom, since Wei Wuxian was like sitting by an open flame. But maybe he could get some fun before he washed up. When he returned from the toilet and refilled his glass of water he had drained over the night, he looked at Wei Wuxian’s sleeping form like a cat eyeing its prey. He had already taken off his shirt during the night because it was hot, but now he stripped of the rest of his clothes. He _hated_ being fully naked, but he really thought he would die if he had to wear anything at the moment. It was well before dawn, judging by how it was still dark as night, so surely everyone would be asleep. It would be fine. He crawled back onto the bed and pulled down the sheets so he could sit on Wei Wuxian’s hips.

Upon feeling the weight on his body, Wei Wuxian grumbled. He shifted a little, his eyebrows twitching. Whatever it was on top of him, it was keeping him pinned to bed.

Lan Zhan rolled his hips a little and started stroking himself loosely, just enough to tease it up. His scent was free and filled the air with arousal. “Husband,” he whispered teasingly.

That was enough to send goosebumps all over Wei Wuxian’s skin and his eyes fluttered open. He made out Lan Zhan’s figure in the dark and quickly noticed that he was the source of the weight. Not only that, but he was completely naked.

“Lan Zhan…?” he whispered.

“Good morning my love,” Lan Zhan whispered as he leaned down to kiss him chastely. He gave himself quicker strokes as he sat back up, biting his bottom lip.

“Yes, a very good morning indeed,” Wei Wuxian purred quietly. He ran his hands up the smooth expanse of Lan Zhan’s thighs before batting his hand away from his cock so he could replace it with his own.

Lan Zhan was happy to let him take over. He reached for the hair ribbon he had put on the bedside table and worked on pulling his hair back into a ponytail.

“You’re lucky it’s so hot,” he murmured. “Get a good look now. You’ll have a hard time getting me this bare at home.”

"We'll move to Yunmeng if it means getting to see you naked all the time," Wei Wuxian mumbled back. He happily stroked the whole length of Lan Zhan's cock, his thumb teasing the tip with every few strokes.

Lan Zhan’s hips rolled forward with each stroke. He rested his hands on either side of Wei Wuxian as the sweet smell of slick started filling the air.

“You’d keep me naked all the time if you could?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian’s other hand came to dip under Lan Zhan’s balls and rub against the building slick at his opening. He carefully pushed two fingers inside.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “We’d move out somewhere far away from everybody else, maybe have a farm where we could get milk and eggs, grow our own crops. I’d build you a greenhouse for you to experiment with plants. We’d be so far from everyone you could be naked in our house all the time. I’d buy you pretty lace and silk to wear when you go out on the farm or in the greenhouse, just in case. You’d only have a few sets of outer robes for when I take you to the market at the closest town, where you’d provide your amazing magically crafted plants and fruits and whatever other incredible things you come up with.”

“That sounds nice,” Lan Zhan said as he rode Wei Wuxian’s fingers in small, quick movements. “I’d still wear clothes, but maybe if you’re good to me I’d wear the panties with the hole in them for easy access.”

“Mmm… I’d come back from the market or working the field and find you waiting for me… bend you over in the kitchen to eat you out… have you nice and hard on the table,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He could see himself stirring in his sleeping shorts.

Lan Zhan liked this fantasy. It was honestly pretty tame in comparison to some of the fantasies he’d been having over the week (ones he had forbidden himself from thinking of before then).

“You could fuck me outside,” he said. “No one around.”

"Is that what you'd want? What if someone saw us?" Wei Wuxian coaxed. He manoevered his fingers a little faster, curling them into his sweet spot.

Lan Zhan tilted his head back and bit his lip as Wei Wuxian pleasured him. “And you’d be okay with someone seeing me in nothing but lace in the greenhouse?” he teased breathlessly.

Wei Wuxian hummed. "It covers all the important parts. It's a tease. But they'll get what's coming to them if they linger too long."

A smirk tugged at Lan Zhan’s lips. “What if I said I didn’t mind?” he continued, his voice still quiet as it had been but rougher. “If I let them watch, let them — mm — know I belong to you.”

Wei Wuxian let out a growl at that, his cock fully hardening as he mercilessly teased Lan Zhan’s sweet spot. “You are mine,” he whispered.

Lan Zhan took hold of Wei Wuxian’s wrist and moved it faster, jerking himself off with it. He was getting close. “I like it when you’re possessive,” he breathed. It was getting harder to speak, especially when he was careful to keep a low volume. “Never thought I’d like thinking about peeping toms but— I like thinking of you hiding me from view. Growling at them.”

Wei Wuxian was happy to obey, stroking Lan Zhan in tandem with the fast pace of his fingers inside him. He wanted to make him cum, to _feel_ him cum. “I would make sure they knew just who you belong to,” he muttered.

A few seconds later Lan Zhan seized up and came silently in Wei Wuxian’s hands, his mouth falling open and his eyelids fluttering. It was a good one, reaching each part of his body. He twitched even after it finished. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, feeling loose and relaxed.

“I know you’re not as weird as I am,” he mumbled a little self-consciously. Wei Wuxian was always so sweet with him, so loving. Especially over the past week, their sex was something more akin to ‘making love,’ as embarrassing as that sounded. “But I fantasize a lot.”

Wei Wuxian eased his fingers out. He used the slick to reach in and tug his own hard cock out, giving it a few strokes. “Tell me about them. Your fantasies,” he said.

Lan Zhan rolled his hips a little. “I think about being your sex slave,” he whispered. “Forcing me to the ground and fucking me. Conjuring all kinds of things to keep me in whatever position you want. Or to fuck me with.”

“Mmm… I could conjure something to hold you in place… something to fuck you with. I’d have fun watching you squirm,” Wei Wuxian said breathlessly, squeezing his cock.

Lan Zhan sat up a little and wiggled around, trying to get into position over Wei Wuxian’s cock. “I like thinking about you being my sex slave too,” he said. “I would get my revenge.”

Wei Wuxian never thought that such an idea would intrigue him but after Lan Zhan had fucked him in that inn, he was more open to different ideas. He helped Lan Zhan position himself over his cock and start to sink down on it.

“What would you do to me?” he asked.

Lan Zhan sat down completely on his length, biting his lip when it stretched his walls. He took a few seconds to adjust, then he started to slowly push himself all the way up and sit back down again.

“I would tie you up,” he said. “Sit on your face. Ride you whenever I wanted. Maybe fuck you too.”

"I did like it when you fucked me," Wei Wuxian mumbled. His cheeks were burning red at the admission. It wasn't a shameful thing, he knew that, but it still embarrassed him a little. "I'd let you do whatever you wanted to me."

Lan Zhan’s eyes darkened at the sight. The room was getting a little bit lighter as dawn approached and he could see the red flush. He _loved_ it. Wei Wuxian seemingly had not even an ounce of shame, except for this. “I would make some lingerie for you,” he said, his voice taking a dangerous edge from keeping it quiet and deep. “Make it fit perfectly. Keep you in my room.”

“I don’t really have the pretty figure for lingerie like you do,” Wei Wuxian mumbled. He squeezed Lan Zhan’s hips and helped him begin to bounce up and down on his cock.

“That’s why I would make it special to fit,” Lan Zhan said. ”Shirt and stockings made of lace... a black skirt. Nothing else.” He rolled his hips in little circles each time he went all the way down. “Maybe some ribbons to tie around your neck and arms.”

Wei Wuxian made a low noise in his throat, his blush spreading across his face. There was no way he wouldn’t look absolutely ridiculous like that but he didn’t want to disappoint Lan Zhan by voicing that opinion. Instead, he focused on helping him slam down on his cock harder and faster.

Lan Zhan humored him for a little while, closing his eyes and riding him. The bed creaked a bit when he moved particularly hard, which amused him. Hopefully it wasn’t too loud. He slowed down, wanting to tease some more.

“I think about you taking what you want from me,” he said. He knew Wei Wuxian would never do that, not in a million years, but that was what made those fantasies safe for him. He could be in complete control while enjoying the illusion of giving it up. “Do you remember the conversation we had when I was in heat about boundaries?”

“Yes,” Wei Wuxian rasped. He was struggling to keep his moans in. Normally, he was very loud and open about how Lan Zhan made him feel, but he was worried about other people in the house hearing them. He would surely be in trouble. “Why, what’s on your mind?”

Lan Zhan rolled his hips back and forth teasingly. “I enjoy your sweetness but you can be mean too if you want,” he murmured. “Just don’t drag me by my hair or take off all my clothes. I would like to be held down sometime. Would you like that?”

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched. Their sex had definitely been a lot rougher when they first started having it and especially when Lan Zhan had been in heat.

“Yeah… Yeah, I can do that,” he whispered. “You promised me sex every day, I hope you know…mm… what you’re asking for.”

Lan Zhan stopped moving and leaned down as if he were going to kiss him. But when he reached his lips, he only took the bottom one between his teeth and tugged on it teasingly.

“You can test me,” he whispered back before he sat back up and started riding him properly again.

“When we get back to Gusu, you have it coming,” Wei Wuxian replied. He bucked his hips up into his movements, getting deeper inside and groaning low in his throat. “Not here. Not when I’m going to make you cry and beg, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan dragged his tender bottom lip through his teeth. That was three weeks away. But he could wait. “I am eager to see you try,” he said, his eyes glistening with amusement. He wrapped a hand around his cock and stroked it in time with the rocking of his hips.

Wei Wuxian shot up from where he was sat and wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist. He moved him faster than ever in his lap as he chased his own orgasm as well. By sinking his teeth into his collar, he muffled his moans.

Lan Zhan slapped his free hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. The wet noises and sounds of their breathing and muffled moans and the creaking of the bed were quiet enough to only be heard by them, but loud enough to make Lan Zhan weak. There was something incredibly arousing about the soft noises of sex when that was all there was — he didn’t get to hear it all that often since Wei Wuxian was usually so loud. He came for a second time, his groan muted by his hand. He felt the slick just sliding out of him around Wei Wuxian’s cock.

Wei Wuxian was close behind. He came with a muffled groan into Lan Zhan’s shoulder, spilling deep inside him and his knot expanding against his walls. He slowly let go of his shoulder when he had calmed down enough and panted.

Lan Zhan breathed out heavily and reached up to rub at the bite mark on his shoulder. He rested his head on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder and then wrapped his arms around him, closing his eyes. “Are you going to get up with me or are you going back to sleep?” he murmured. “I can give you a massage if it would help.”

“I would _love_ a massage. Ah, Lan Zhan, you’re the absolute best,” Wei Wuxian said. He crooned and nuzzled against him affectionately.

Lan Zhan kissed his cheek and gently pushed him down to lay on the bed. He ran his hands up Wei Wuxian’s chest and back down, then started to knead his sides. He made his way up to his shoulders and rubbed little circles with his palms.

“The cream and eggs I used last night were fresh,” he said softly. “Do the Jiangs have their own cows and chickens?”

“Mhmm. Out back, we have a small farm. It’s handled by the servants though, you wouldn’t catch a Jiang out there in the mud. I stop by sometimes,” Wei Wuxian said. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the magic work of Lan Zhan’s fingers. “When jiejie moves out to live with that peacock, I can imagine they’ll start getting the servants to do the cooking and cleaning too.”

“I think I will go help,” Lan Zhan said. He greatly enjoyed doing farm chores like milking cows and collecting eggs and cleaning stalls. There was just something about caring for animals that calmed him. He was excited about getting a rabbit when he returned to Gusu. “Practice for when we have a farm,” he added, thinking back on that cute little fantasy Wei Wuxian had laid out for him earlier.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes fluttered back open at that. He smiled. “You really want to have a farm with me? I mean, that’s the kind of life that I’d like, I think… Admittedly, a couple of little ones running around helping with the animals sounds good too.”

Lan Zhan’s gaze softened. It did sound nice. Almost like a pipe dream, really. “I would have to stop wearing nothing but lace,” he teased quietly.

“I suppose we’ll have to make the most of it before then. It’s not like we’re in a hurry,” Wei Wuxian replied with a soft chuckle.

Lan Zhan nodded. That eased him a little. He could have kids when he was older. He worked his fingers into the dips between Wei Wuxian’s muscles, focusing on the trapeziums.

He started to hum quietly. He had spent some time on the road singing and messing around with Wei Wuxian’s flute, though not too much. He was afraid of annoying Jiang Wanyin.

“Whatever did I do to deserve someone with such talented fingers?” Wei Wuxian said with a sigh. All of his muscles were loosening up, slowly but surely.

“You also have talented fingers,” Lan Zhan replied before continuing his song again. He started quietly singing the words, remembering that this was the song he had sung months earlier when Wei Wuxian had first been in his room. He remembered being irked that all of the songs he knew were love songs about alphas, but now he thought it was appropriate.

_”My man is sweeter than chocolate pie, he’s funny and smart with a twinkle in his eye, I’ll never stop asking why he picked me...”_

That made Wei Wuxian laugh and he gazed at Lan Zhan was a soft fondness. He never would have thought it was possible to fall in love this quickly but here they were. Never had he been more confident that this was the man he wanted to marry.

When his song ended, Lan Zhan leaned down to kiss Wei Wuxian gently and brought his hands up to massage the sides of his head. He also felt a rush of affection, one that almost made him choke up. The memory of that first night in Lan Zhan’s room haunted him.

He might not be able to tell Wei Wuxian that he loved him all the time, but he would do other things to show him that it was true. Make him food, give him massages, cuddle with him. He would make sure to do _something_ once every day, even if it was just a simple touch. He wouldn’t mess up like he had before. He sealed his secret promise with another kiss to Wei Wuxian’s lips.

"As soon as my knot goes down, we should wash up and head out. There will be trouble if Auntie Yu finds out that you spent the night with me," Wei Wuxian mumbled against his lips before leaning in steal yet another one.

Lan Zhan hummed. “I thought you were going back to sleep,” he said. “Is there a bath in the guest bedroom? I can use that.”

"Normally I would go back to sleep but you're here with me and I want to spend as much time with you as possible. And yes, there's a bath in the guest bedroom," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan nodded and continued his massage. “Will you be going with me to the farm, then?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian nodded. "Yeah. I can show you around, I'm more familiar with the farm than any of my other family members. I want to take you to the river later, we can pick some lotus pods and catch frogs."

Catching frogs sounded fun. “Okay,” Lan Zhan said. He was sure he would enjoy going into the river, since it was bound to be scorching hot again. “Are there ever other people at the river?” he asked.

"Not typically but sometimes. Everyone likes a breather from the hot weather from time to time but they'll usually go to the lake to swim instead. You can swim, right?" Wei Wuxian asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Lan Zhan nodded. He had swam in a river near the campus during the hottest months before. His brother had taught him and Su Ming how to swim there. “Will anyone be too scandalized if I don’t wear a shirt?” He asked.

"Most people know better than to say anything, especially if you're with me. I think you'll be fine. I know even I can't cope in all the heat," Wei Wuxian said. He looked Lan Zhan over in his lap. "Especially with all those bites I've left on you."

Lan Zhan looked over his body. Wei Wuxian had shown him a lot of love in the inns throughout the week. He had claimed him again, too. It was all hidden under his clothes, but there would be no secrets once he got in the river. He decided that he didn’t care. He pulled himself off Wei Wuxian once his knot went down, feeling the slick and cum trickling down his thighs.

“Do you know how to braid hair?” he asked.

"Yeah. I used to braid jiejie's hair when we were younger. Ah, did you want me to braid your hair for you?" Wei Wuxian said. He liked the sound of that, sitting there and combing through Lan Zhan's beautiful long hair.

Lan Zhan nodded. “After my bath,” he said. He stood up and pulled on his night clothes, and put Blue and his book in his bag and picked it up. “I’ll come back here when I am finished.”

Wei Wuxian leaned up to grab him and steal another kiss from him before flopping back against the covers and smiling. "Okay. I'll be waiting for you."


	27. Farm Boy

Lan Zhan made quick work of his bath. The water was cool, which he was eternally grateful for. He was afraid that it would be hot like it was at the college; there, the magic that heated the buildings also heated the water so it was always hot. It was only shut down during the hottest month of the year. He supposed there was no need for hot water in a place like this.

He dressed into the outfit he had been given the afternoon before. He looked at himself in the mirror for a little while, contemplating. It was so strange to wear stuff like this, so different from what he usually did. He put his forehead ribbon in his pocket and brought his comb back to Wei Wuxian’s room so he could braid his hair.

Wei Wuxian had also gotten up in the meantime and taken a quick bath. He was getting dressed when Lan Zhan re-entered the room and he smiled at him. “Brought a comb?” he noted, looking down at the comb in Lan Zhan’s hand. He finished up and then invited Lan Zhan to sit at the desk which had a mirror on top.

Lan Zhan nodded and handed him the comb before sitting down with a yawn. “These clothes look strange on me,” he said.

“I think you look beautiful,” Wei Wuxian said. He began combing through Lan Zhan’s hair. “But you’d look beautiful in anything, honestly.”

Lan Zhan gave Wei Wuxian a tiny smile through the mirror. He was so sweet. He plucked one of the small flowers from the vase on the desk and handed it to Wei Wuxian. “Can you put this in it too?”

“Sure,” Wei Wuxian said, taking the flower. He hummed the same tune Lan Zhan had been humming earlier as he finished combing through his hair. Then, he started to braid it, settling the flower in his hair.

Lan Zhan took another of the same flower and twirled it in his fingers. It was small and purple. He wanted to save his magic for later, so he didn’t turn it red like he wanted to.

When Wei Wuxian had finished braiding his hair, he stood up. “Put your hair up,” he said, tying on his forehead ribbon.

Wei Wuxian shot him a skeptical look but he did. He put down the comb and tied his own hair into a high ponytail like he often did.

When he was finished, Lan Zhan reached up and tucked the flower into the ponytail. It should stick like that. “Lets go through the kitchen before we go to the farm,” he said. He wanted to get some oranges.

Wei Wuxian nodded. He took Lan Zhan by the hand with a big smile of his face and guided him out of his room and to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, Jiang Yanli was making a cup of tea. She smiled when she saw the two of them, her eyes briefly flickering down to their joined hands.

“Good morning, A-Xian, Lan Zhan,” she said.

“Good morning jiejie,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan was surprised to find someone awake already. “Good morning,” he said quietly.

He wondered if she was going to make breakfast, and if he should help. He kind of wanted to, but he also wanted to go see the animals and maybe milk the cows if he could.

“Is everyone else still asleep?” Wei Wuxian asked.

Jiang Yanli nodded. “It’s just me, I have a few bits to do before I start on breakfast. Where are you two headed?”

“Lan Zhan wanted to stop by the kitchen before we go to the farm,” Wei Wuxian replied. “Then I’m going to take him to the river later.”

Lan Zhan went to the fruit bowl and grabbed a couple of oranges. “Do you need me to help with breakfast?” he asked.

Jiang Yanli turned to look at Lan Zhan with the cup of tea in her hand, she smiled wide at him. “If you like. You’re always welcome in the kitchen with me. There’s time for you to go to the farm before I start. Come back in an hour?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Okay,” he said. He could bring back the eggs and milk if he got any. It would be good to learn how to make breakfast. He looked at Wei Wuxian expectantly.

“Thanks jiejie. We’ll see you later,” Wei Wuxian said.

Jiang Yanli bowed her head towards them and then Wei Wuxian turned round to drag Lan Zhan out of the kitchen with him. He headed outside and took Lan Zhan around the back of the house.

It was a five minute walk to reach the farm where the animals roamed. One of the farmhands, Jiang Shisong, was tending to the chickens when he heard the footsteps.

Jiang Shisong was a young alpha boy who had followed in his father’s footsteps for the Jiang family as a servant. He was only a little younger than Wei Wuxian, closer to Jiang Wanyin in age, and the two had always got along quite well whenever Wei Wuxian stopped by the farm.

“Young Master Wei,” he said with a smile when he saw him. He bowed politely towards them. “Good morning.”

“Good morning! Lan Zhan, this is Jiang Shisong, he does most of the work taking care of the animals,” Wei Wuxian introduced him. “And this is Lan Zhan, my mate.”

Jiang Shisong had quickly caught a whiff of Lan Zhan’s scent. Of course, he knew far better than to make any kind of advancement on Wei Wuxian’s mate, but he couldn’t help but notice the young man was undeniably beautiful. And a man, at that.

“Pleasure to meet you, Young Master Lan,” he said softly, bowing towards him as well with a slight tinge of pink to his cheeks.

Lan Zhan nodded at him. “Have the cows been milked yet?” he asked, looking around. A chicken came up to him and pecked at his boot.

“Not yet,” Jiang Shisong replied.

“He’d like to help, if that’s okay,” Wei Wuxian said, glancing at Lan Zhan and then back at Jiang Shisong.

Jiang Shisong looked surprised but nodded. “Of course. Follow me.”

Lan Zhan followed eagerly. He always liked milking the cows at the farm in Gusu. “How many cows do you have?” he asked.

“Eight at the moment. We’re only a small farm here,” Jiang Shisong replied. He guided Lan Zhan over to where the cows were and told him the names of each one. “Have you ever milked a cow before?”

Wei Wuxian followed close behind but didn’t say anything. He was content to just watch for now.

“Mm.” The farm Lan Zhan had been to before had more cows, and they were considered a pretty big farm. But they also had sheep and other animals as well. “It has been a long time since I did,” he added.

“Okay well maybe you can watch me do it first and then you can give it a go?” Jiang Shisong suggested with a bashful smile.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan nodded. Jiang Shisong seemed sweet. He reminded Lan Zhan a little of the farmer’s son in Gusu who always went out of his way to do things for him.

“You’ll find that Lan Zhan is _very_ good with his hands,” Wei Wuxian said with a small snort of laughter, laughing harder when Jiang Shisong’s face blossomed into a bright shade of red.

Jiang Shisong quickly cleared his throat and took Lan Zhan over to one of the cows and brought them a stool each to sit on.

Lan Zhan joined him while side-eyeing Wei Wuxian for that comment. “Shameless,” he said under his breath.

“Oh you love it,” Wei Wuxian cooed.

Jiang Shisong opted to ignore him for now and focused on showing Lan Zhan how to properly milk one of the cows. Once it was done and Lan Zhan seemed to properly understand what to do, he shuffled them over to one of the other cows.

“She’s a lot less grumpy than the others,” he said. He pet the cow affectionately. “So have a go on her first.”

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said quietly. He set his stool and bucket down and got to work. He wasn’t sure why he liked animals so much. Maybe because they didn’t judge him like people did. He listened to the cow’s breathing and munching while he milked her, working slowly but properly. He wished they could have a farm at the college, but they would need a lot more cows to feed all of the students. It was better to buy the milk from the surrounding farms.

“Hey, I think you’re a natural, you know,” Jiang Shisong said with a light laugh.

Wei Wuxian bristled a little from where he was stood but didn’t comment, just narrowed his eyes and watched Jiang Shisong more closely.

Lan Zhan glanced at Jiang Shisong and said, “Perhaps he was right about my hands.“ Though, he was used to working with plants, not animals. Maybe both required a gentle touch?

Jiang Shisong stammered for a moment, unsure how to respond to Lan Zhan’s response, before laughing nervously. “Yes, maybe so…” he said.

Lan Zhan didn’t notice the awkwardness. He continued until the sun was high enough that he supposed an hour had passed since he left the kitchen. He took the bucket of milk out from under the cow.

“Can I take this back to the house?” he asked.

“Ah, yes, of course!” Jiang Shisong said.

“Jiejie will be pleased, I think,” Wei Wuxian said. He walked over to Lan Zhan and took his hand. “Are you ready to go back?”

“Mm.” Lan Zhan bowed to Jiang Shisong. “Thank you,” he said. He might come out here every morning, he decided.

“No problem! Not a problem at all. You’re welcome back any time, Young Master Lan,” Jiang Shisong said quickly. He bowed back to him.

Wei Wuxian squeezed Lan Zhan’s hand and said goodbye to Jiang Shisong before hurrying to walk back to the house from the farm.

On the way, Lan Zhan carried the bucket carefully so as not to let it splash. “I had fun,” he said. “I might go back tomorrow.”

“I’d be happy to accompany you, _Young Master Lan,_ ” Wei Wuxian said with a small snort of laughter.

Lan Zhan fought against a smile and playfully nudged Wei Wuxian with his arm. “Don’t be mean to your servant.”

“I’m not! I’m not. Just like he was definitely not _eyefucking_ you,” Wei Wuxian said, glancing at Lan Zhan with a smirk tugging on his lips.

Lan Zhan gave Wei Wuxian a disbelieving look. He hadn’t noticed anything weird. But maybe he was just used to alphas making their opinions his problem. “I am sure he knows to look and not touch,” he said.

“Oh no, he won’t do anything, especially not if I’m there too. He’s a good guy but I just thought you should know that he was definitely checking you out,” Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan sighed. There was a time he would have been bothered by it, but ever since meeting Wei Wuxian he had felt more confident. “If he keeps it to himself I do not mind,” he said. “I am flattered.”

Flattered wasn’t quite the right word, but he had enough shame to keep that to himself. He liked being admired when it didn’t end in being harassed. And maybe there was a bit of smugness attached, like a cat sitting peacefully on a roof while dogs whined and barked at it from below. He realized how incredibly mean that was. He should watch himself...

“Mmm well as long as you know that there is no one in the world that finds you more beautiful than I do,” Wei Wuxian said and then leaned down to press a sloppy kiss on Lan Zhan’s cheek. There was no way he could possibly know such a thing but he was willing to bet it was true.

Lan Zhan wiped his cheek but then ducked his head to kiss Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. “Likewise,” he said. Truly, Wei Wuxian was the most attractive man he’d ever seen in his life.

Surprisingly, Wei Wuxian’s cheeks burned red at that. “Sheesh, Lan Zhan, warn a man before you say something like that,” he said.

_What, likewise?_ Lan Zhan blinked at him and then turned to face forward again. “Okay,” he said.

They got to the house a minute later and Lan Zhan headed to the kitchen. “What time does everyone usually wake up?” he asked quietly.

“Could be any time now,” Wei Wuxian said. He took Lan Zhan to the kitchen and Jiang Yanli beamed when she saw them.

“Milk the cows, Lan Zhan?” she asked.

Lan Zhan nodded and set the bucket on a cloth on the counter. “One of them,” he said. He was quite proud of himself.

“Most people don’t like trapezing around the mud,” Jiang Yanli said with a hum. “Looks like you did a good job though!”

“He did,” Wei Wuxian affirmed.

Jiang Yanli giggled. “Come on over, we’ll start on breakfast.”

“What about me?” Wei Wuxian asked.

“You need to stay out of the kitchen, A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli replied, making him huff.

Lan Zhan gave Wei Wuxian a soft glance before he went to go help Jiang Yanli. He felt kind of bad because of how little he knew about cooking, but this was his chance to learn. He would make sure to watch her closely, unlike when he had watched the cooks at the college.


	28. Day at the River

Just like with dinner the night before, Jiang Yanli cooked breakfast for the Jiang family with Lan Zhan’s aid. With anything he was unsure of, she walked him through it. In the meantime, Wei Wuxian had been banished from the kitchen.

Breakfast went smoothly. Jiang Wanyin did not speak to Wei Wuxian throughout the entirety of breakfast however. Wei Wuxian knew that he just needed time to cool down though. He would worry about that later.

Once they had eaten, Wei Wuxian declared that he was taking Lan Zhan out to the river. The Yunmeng heat had fully blossomed now, given the time of day. Wei Wuxian stretched when they finally approached the river and stripped the top half of his clothing, leaving it on a rock nearby, then rolled his pants up to his knees.

“That’s so much better,” he said, then kicked off his boots. “Do you see them? The lotus pods?”

Ignoring the question, Lan Zhan decided to follow Wei Wuxian’s lead. He wasn’t completely comfortable being half naked outside, but he didn’t really want to have a wet shirt on to walk back in. He neatly folded his robes and left them next to Wei Wuxian’s, followed by his boots and stockings, before he put on the bamboo hat he had borrowed. He rolled up his pants as well and then went to the water and looked at it. It was clear enough, though not as clear as the water in Gusu. That water came from a spring, though. He slowly started walking into the water.

Wei Wuxian backed up for a running start before leaping into the river, splashing the water all over himself and Lan Zhan as he laughed.

Lan Zhan flinched when Wei Wuxian splashed him and wiped the water from his face. He was content to wade around for now, shaded from the sun by his big hat. He looked around and took note of the fish swimming around in the river. Then he turned and looked for the lotuses. He wanted to see if he could mess around with them.

"Lan Zhan, look!" Wei Wuxian yelled, already running through the water towards the lotuses and plucking one out. He held it out towards Lan Zhan and grinned. "Come on! Do something cool!"

Lan Zhan took the flower and held it in his hands. As with any plant torn from its roots it felt choked almost, but for some reason it made it easier to manipulate it. He put his fingers underneath the torn stem and pushed his magic into it, watching it turn from pink to deep red.

"Whoooaaa! Cool!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed as he watched. He wrapped his wet arms around Lan Zhan's shoulders and watched more closely. "You're so talented Lan Zhan!"

Lan Zhan put his hand on top of the flower and gripped some of the petals. “Give me some of your magic,” he said. “A small amount is fine.”

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. He put his hand on Lan Zhan’s and closed his eyes to focus his energy. In moments, a small amount of magical energy was flowing through his body and into Lan Zhan.

Properly boosted, Lan Zhan was able to change the color from red to a deep royal blue. He let the color blossom from his fingers for an inch, then he let go. The top of the flower now had a blue spot on it. He then moved to the petals towards the bottom and turned one blue, skipped one and turned the next one blue, until they were alternating colors. It looked kind of ridiculous.

“Whoa, when did you learn to change the colours of individual petals?” Wei Wuxian asked, watching with wide eyes as each petal shifted in colours. It was a bit of a mess but he was mostly blown away by the mechanics of it all.

“I learned that I can make the color spread from where my skin touches it rather than from the stem,” Lan Zhan explained. “If I control it carefully, I can stop the magic flow at intervals in order to only color part of the plant.”

“That’s amazing!” Wei Wuxian chirped. He grinned and ran off to get another lotus. He plucked it out and waded back through the water to hand it to Lan Zhan. “Here, another one.”

Lan Zhan took it in his hands and thought for a minute, just staring at it. He only knew how to intensify colors and change their nature (red to blue for example) but he couldn’t make colors lighter yet. Using his own magic, he let it flow up from the stem and change the color from pink to a sky blue. Then he put his hand over the top of it and used a lot of his magic to turn it that deep royal blue, so it faded from dark at the top to light at the bottom. Then he said, “Give me some magic.”

As always, Wei Wuxian nodded and smiled. He put his hand on Lan Zhan’s and sent magic through his body like he had done just a few moments prior.

With it, Lan Zhan touched each petal with the tip of his finger and changed the color from blue to purple. This way, the flower faded from light at the bottom to dark at the top, and each individual petal was blue with a purple tip. He pinched the stem and then gripped the part under it, sending his magic through to grow the stem out longer and longer until what looked like a massive root grew out on two sides of the bottom. He had seen these when he grew the lotus at home. He kept growing it until new little green sprouts came out and then he stopped and smoothed out the stem where he had pinched it to keep the magic flowing downwards. “I think you can put this in a pot and keep it alive,” he said.

Wei Wuxian was mesmerised by the process. It didn’t matter how many times Lan Zhan used his magic on something, it always amazed him. “We can keep it as a memory of this moment,” he said. Then he leaned down to press a kiss to Lan Zhan’s cheek.

Lan Zhan tilted his head back toward Wei Wuxian and gazed at him, looking between his eyes and his lips. “Tell me what everyone’s favorite color is,” he said. “I’ll make one for each of them.”

Wei Wuxian hummed in thought and then railed off all the different colours he thought each member of his family would like. He watched in awe as Lan Zhan worked his magic on every lotus flower he picked for him (and adding some of his own magic to help the process along) until eventually they had a collection that could be gifted.

“You are the most amazing person I have ever met,” he said with a sigh.

Lan Zhan had melded the large roots at the bottom so that all of the flowers were part of one system. He carefully laid the flowers over by the bank with their roots in the water. They were all big and vibrantly colored. They could put them in a large pot at the house sometime later. He walked over to place a tiny, subtle kiss on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder and then straightened his hat back over his head and walked further into the river, looking around. The fish fled as he walked, and he bent down to get a smooth rock he found at the bottom. It was white and round, and it felt nice in his hands.

Wei Wuxian watched Lan Zhan for a moment before he crept behind him. Just as he was getting his balance back standing back upright, he purposefully swept out his legs so he fell splashing back into the river, Wei Wuxian laughing as he did.

Lan Zhan gasped and sat there in the water for a moment, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Had Wei Wuxian seriously knocked him over? And _laughed_ about it?

He tilted his hat back so he could send a horribly scandalized look at his alpha, his ears burning red. “Wei Wuxian,” he growled as he jumped back up as fast as he could so he could shove him into the water.

Wei Wuxian shrieked amongst his laughter and quickly began to flee. However, it didn't take Lan Zhan long to catch up and push him into the river water. He sat up and grinned, pushing some of his wet hair back before he grabbed Lan Zhan and pulled him on top of him in the water. "You're wet darling," he cooed.

This was a lot of fun, actually, but Lan Zhan wasn’t about to admit that. He scowled and pushed Wei Wuxian with his hands. “Wei _Ying,”_ he growled disrespectfully.

"Ooh ouch. Don't you know it's rude to call an alpha by his birth name?" Wei Wuxian replied, still grinning. He reached out to grab Lan Zhan's hips and pulled him onto his lap.

Lan Zhan turned his nose up. “You were rude first,” he declared, only putting a medium amount of effort into squirming away from him.

Wei Wuxian only laughed harder at that. Did Lan Zhan even know how cute he was like this? Especially all soaking wet in his lap. He squeezed Lan Zhan's hips and leaned in for a kiss.

Lan Zhan turned his head away stubbornly. “No kisses for bad boys,” he said, firmly placing his hand on Wei Wuxian chest to keep him at bay.

"How can you say that when you're a bad boy yourself? You always get grumpy whenever I tell you that you're good. You _like_ it when I'm bad," Wei Wuxian said. He rubbed his thumbs in small circles on his hips.

Lan Zhan looked back down at Wei Wuxian with a slight frown. He couldn’t argue against that. Still. “How do _you_ know?” he asked.

"I think I know Lan Zhan better than most people. I definitely know you _inside_ and out, which is something no one else can say," Wei Wuxian teased. He pinched Lan Zhan's side and chuckled.

After he jumped from the pinch, Lan Zhan slowly looked him up and down, then looked around them to make sure no one was in sight. He was close to fucking Wei Wuxian right there in the water; he knew his weaknesses. Wei Wuxian half naked and wet, that mischievous smile, his daring rudeness a minute ago, Lan Zhan would be lying if he said it didn't turn him on. He squirmed away from him, feeling his resolve slipping.

"You're a hellion," he complained.

Wei Wuxian was quick to grab Lan Zhan when he wiggled out of his grasp. This time, he pushed Lan Zhan back into the water and nestled between his legs. Then, he leaned in to whisper in his ear: "You love it."

That resolve slipped out of Lan Zhan's hands and he did his best to hold onto the remnants of it. Even when he let Wei Wuxian between his legs and grabbed his arms to keep from sinking into the water, he still squirmed and scoffed. Gods, he could feel himself getting a little hard. How shameless was he? Not much better than Wei Wuxian, apparently.

"Oh, this turns you on, does it?" Wei Wuxian continued to tease. He nudged Lan Zhan's erection with his knee. "Out here where anybody could see us? Such shameless behaviour Lan Zhan, but it excites you, doesn't it?"

Lan Zhan went beet red, thoroughly embarrassed. _"You're_ shameless," he attempted to hold onto his pride.

He put a foot on Wei Wuxian's hip so he could at least push away his lower half. He didn't want to stop, but also... was he really going to do this here? Couldn't he control himself and wait?

"I could jerk you off right here. No one would look under the water," Wei Wuxian mumbled. His hand reached down under the water and cupped his crotch, his thumb rubbing over his cock.

Lan Zhan bit his lip and looked to his left, then his right. No one was around... he had mentioned earlier something about having sex outside but that was assuming they would be in the middle of nowhere. This was risky. He squirmed and whimpered.

“What if Madame Yu comes out here?” he asked.

“She won’t, but on the off chance that she does come this far out, you better hope you cum quickly,” Wei Wuxian mumbled. He didn’t let up, squeezing and rubbing his cock.

“That’s up to you, isn’t it?” Lan Zhan moved his hands to Wei Wuxian’s shoulders. His expression was conflicted, brows upturned and eyes looking this way and that. He couldn’t deny that this was extremely arousing. Just the risk of it made the touches more intense than they would be otherwise, and it pulled a shiver from him.

“You really are a hellion,” he whined.

“Mhmm and the better you behave, the less chance we’ll get caught,” Wei Wuxian said. He kissed Lan Zhan’s jaw and reached his hand inside his pants to stroke his cock properly. Even he was surprised just how hard Lan Zhan was already.

Lan Zhan gave up and wrapped his legs around Wei Wuxian’s waist. He was surprisingly pliant, shocking himself with how demure he felt. Maybe it was because he was outside. He leaned forward and put his forehead on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, hiding his face. He couldn’t believe he had gotten into this mess just because Wei Wuxian had acted like a fool. It wasn’t sexy at all and yet...

Wei Wuxian continued to kiss at his jaw and down under his ear as he pumped his cock, occasionally squeezing the head with every few pumps. It was so erotic to hear the water swish around them, Lan Zhan’s soft pants in his ear. _Anyone_ could walk out and see them.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” he mumbled against his skin.

“Mhmm,” Lan Zhan whimpered quietly. It was embarrassing for many reasons, but he couldn’t seem to pull himself together at the moment. He wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian and swallowed roughly. It would usually take him a little longer to finish without penetration, but probably not that much this time considering how turned on he was.

“I can’t believe you’re so hard… throbbing in my hand…” Wei Wuxian whispered. He toyed with Lan Zhan’s tip, swiping up the precum and using it as he pumped faster. “This really excites you. You’re so naughty, Lan Zhan.”

“Your fault,” Lan Zhan argued. His breath was speeding up and he dug his nails into Wei Wuxian’s upper back. He could feel himself getting close.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and then nipped at his neck. He could sense Lan Zhan was getting close, especially by his scent. “You were the one who wanted to have sex outdoors, no?”

Lan Zhan groaned. He knew he was to blame. His hips jerked as he got closer and he squeezed Wei Wuxian and panted hard. He was a little humiliated, but he realized with some interest that he _liked_ it. He almost wished Wei Wuxian would tease him more. A moan forced its way out when he came, the pleasure washing over him and leaving him shaking and sensitive.

Wei Wuxian took his hand away when Lan Zhan came. He hummed and popped his messy fingers in his mouth to lick away any of the remaining cum that clung to them.

“There we go,” he said. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

Lan Zhan kept holding onto Wei Wuxian, feeling like he was buzzing. He had never considered it a negative trait to have multiple orgasms, but now when his body refused to settle down it was annoying. He let go with one hand so he could put away his still half-hard cock. He was sure if anyone saw him they would know immediately what he’d done just from how red his ears and even his face was.

It was then, Wei Wuxian caught sight of him. Big, round, and dark green.

“Lan Zhan, look! A frog!” he said. He immediately dropped Lan Zhan into the water stumbled to his feet to chase after the frog.

Lan Zhan laid in the water for a moment, shocked that Wei Wuxian would drop him like that. He got his feet under him and pulled his bamboo hat to sit properly on his head and then looked at what Wei Wuxian was doing.

“Frog?” he asked.

Of course, Wei Wuxian had caught many frogs in his time. It was one of his and Jiang Wanyin’s favourite hobbies when they were children. This meant that it was no trouble to catch the frog he’d seen in his hands. He grinned and ran back over to Lan Zhan to show him.

“Look! Frog!” he said.

Lan Zhan gasped softly. It was so cute. And _big._ He had seen frogs before, but only a few times. “It’s so big,” he said.

“I can hand him to you but you have to be careful and gentle. He’s slippery,” Wei Wuxian suggested, cocking his eyebrow.

Lan Zhan held his hands out and cupped them. When the frog jumped into them he startled a little. It felt _cold._ He didn’t know they would be cold. He peeked between his fingers at the frog and said, “Hello.”

The frog settled in Lan Zhan’s hands, almost as if he could sense the kindness from him. Wei Wuxian beamed from ear to ear watching him handle it. Everything about this was precious, from the careful way he handled the frog to the sweet voice he used to talk to it.

“I think he likes you,” he cooed.

Lan Zhan crooned quietly at the frog. He liked how his throat moved like he was breathing really fast. He opened his hands a little and the frog jumped onto his arm. “I like his little toes,” he said.

“You have a natural connection with animals, huh? You know, I knew I liked you from the moment I saw you with those baby rabbits,” Wei Wuxian said. He crouched down beside Lan Zhan to look closer at the frog.

Lan Zhan smiled a little at the memory. “Who wouldn’t like baby rabbits?” he asked.

He held his hand up to the frog and it jumped on. He waded over to the nearest lily pad and flattened his hand out next to it. The frog turned around to face it, but didn’t jump off yet.

“I wasn’t looking at the baby rabbits at the time, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said as his expression softened.

Lan Zhan watched as the frog finally jumped onto the lily pad, its throat still moving up and down comically. When he turned to look at Wei Wuxian, he remembered that day. He was so uncomfortable with romance back then. He was mad at Wei Wuxian for making things complicated, but maybe _he_ was the one complicating it.

“I was annoyed with you then,” he said. “I am happy that you were persistent.”

“You were the most complicated person I’d ever met. I liked you. I liked you a lot but I didn’t want to push you. Any time you told me to go, I would,” Wei Wuxian said. He watched the frog intensely. “I thought I could go with having sex with you regularly if I meant I could be close to you, even if you never caught feelings. But the longer it went on, the more it upset me.”

Lan Zhan’s heart clenched and he moved closer to Wei Wuxian so he could put his hands on his shoulder and lay a gentle kiss there. “I did have feelings for you,” he said. “I should have recognized it when I went to your dorm room. I was so scared but I wanted to be vulnerable. I wanted to trust you. That’s never happened before.”

Wei Wuxian cupped Lan Zhan’s cheeks in his palms and met his eyes. His thumbs gently rubbed over his cheekbones and he smiled. “There hasn’t been a day since you got in that carriage with me that I wasn’t grateful that you did,” he said.

Lan Zhan’s gaze softened and he leaned in to kiss him before he ducked his head to rest on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian’s waist and sighed, watching the frog turn around on its lily pad and jump onto the next one. He didn’t know how he had gotten so lucky.

“Let’s go somewhere tomorrow night,” he said. “In the forest, or somewhere no one is around. I have a gift for you.”

“A gift? Lan Zhan, you didn’t have to get me anything. Just you being here with me is enough, I promise,” Wei Wuxian said. He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss on top of Lan Zhan’s head. “But there is a forest a small walk away. We can go there.”

“I _wanted_ to give you something,” Lan Zhan said. “Now that I can. You will enjoy it a lot.” Probably not just from the potion itself, but also getting to witness Lan Zhan losing his mind on a giggle potion.

"I'm looking forward to it," Wei Wuxian replied. He couldn't help but let out a croon as he nuzzled against Lan Zhan, enjoying the softness of his skin and his sweet scent.

Lan Zhan turned his head and kissed Wei Wuxian's neck. "Maybe I shouldn't," he teased quietly. "How else would I get revenge for what you just did to me?"

"You're punishing me for giving you an orgasm?" Wei Wuxian asked with a cocked eyebrow. He nuzzled against him and pouted.

Lan Zhan pulled away just enough so he could give him a stern look. "You know what you did," he said.

“And what was that, hm?” Wei Wuxian teased. He wanted to hear Lan Zhan say it, he wanted to see if he would be so shameless as to say the words.

Lan Zhan knew what he was doing. His ears reddened but he kept his gaze even as he said, "You pushed me."

"So?" Wei Wuxian said with a grin. "That means I can't make you cum to make up for it?"

Lan Zhan shoved him away lightly and pulled his hat back up. "You're ridiculous," he said, looking back at the lily pads. The frog was still floating on one of them.

“Awww, come on Lan Zhan, you _love_ me,” Wei Wuxian said. He followed his gaze over to the frog and smiled. Lan Zhan really loved animals, huh?

Lan Zhan bent down a little so he could watch while the frog turned, seemingly to face some kind of bug flying around. He didn't actually know anything about frogs -- did they eat bugs? Then the frog's tongue shot out impossibly long and grabbed the bug. Lan Zhan jumped slightly in surprise and watched with wide eyes while the frog pulled it into his mouth.

"Is that how he eats?" he asked.

Wei Wuxian hummed. He’d observed frogs many time in his life and it was still pretty amazing to see them. Those poor unsuspecting flies…

“Yeah. You know who else has a long tongue though?” he said. He grabbed Lan Zhan’s arm and tugged him towards him so he could drag his tongue up the side of Lan Zhan’s face and laughed.

Lan Zhan gasped, scandalized again. How much was Wei Wuxian going to do to him today? This wasn't on Lan Zhan anymore, Wei Wuxian knew _exactly_ what he was doing.

"Wei Wuxian!" he scolded, shoving him away and reaching up to rub at his cheek where he'd been licked.

That only made Wei Wuxian laugh harder. Lan Zhan was so easy to tease and it was just so fun as well. “What? I’ve had my tongue in naughtier places on your body!” he said.

"You're terrible." Lan Zhan muttered as he felt the blush come back to his cheeks. He turned around and waded deeper into the river, knowing that Wei Wuxian just wanted to get reactions out of him. He wouldn't!

“This is the life you’ve signed up for now, Lan Zhan! You’re going to marry this terrible idiot!” Wei Wuxian said. He snorted with laughter and then chased after him.

_DON'T get horny again,_ Lan Zhan threatened himself as he heard Wei Wuxian coming after him. As much as he enjoyed thinking about being chased and caught when he was getting off, this was _not_ the time for that. He grabbed a stick from under the water and pointed it at Wei Wuxian to keep him at bay, backing up.

"Hands to yourself," he warned, only half directed at his alpha.

“I haven’t even done anything yet!” Wei Wuxian said, putting his hands in the air. A smirk tugged on his lips as he made a small motion with his fingers. The water stirred around them and then a few long black tentacles rose up with a splash. They promptly wrapped themselves around Lan Zhan’s arms and legs and lifted him into the air.

That was the last thing Lan Zhan expected to happen, though he realized that he probably should have. Leave it to Wei Wuxian to find a loophole in anything. His hat fell off once again, hanging down his back from the strings.

"Wei Wuxian!" Lan Zhan growled, struggling against the _things_ wrapped around him.

He paused for a second when he realized what exactly they were, and a conflicting rush of both horror and arousal washed through him. The amount of times he had fantasized about these damn... tentacles? Why did this have to happen out in the open?

Wei Wuxian watched with amusement as the tentacles slithered over Lan Zhan’s chest. He knew how it felt to have them touch you, like a gentle tickle, though granted he had never used them like _this_ on himself.

“You have to say the magic words if you want to be let down,” he said.

"What words?" Lan Zhan asked.

He struggled against them again, trying to grab onto one or two. He knew that struggling would only worsen the situation and if Wei Wuxian found out that he was horny _again_ he surely would not survive.

“The magic ones,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

His eyes were concentrated on Lan Zhan, eyes twinkling. Each time he struggled, the tentacles slid further and further over his body.

Lan Zhan gave up, panting and glaring at Wei Wuxian intensely. What magic words? Was he talking about the colors or something else? _Please?_ Lan Zhan would rather die.

“Or is it that Lan Zhan perhaps, likes this?” Wei Wuxian asked. The tentacles over his chest slid over Lan Zhan’s navel and the ones on his legs slid up his thighs.

Lan Zhan's eyes widened. He wasn't _really_ going to do that right here, was he? It was one thing to do it under water... "Wei Wuxian, you miscreant!" he cried.

“You know the rules. Either a _please_ or a colour will let you down,” Wei Wuxian said. He figured he could watch Lan Zhan all day like this.

Lan Zhan wasn't about to beg. He wouldn't stoop that low. But also... as much as he secretly enjoyed this, maybe doing it while floating in the air above a river in the middle of the day where anyone could find them (hell, hadn't Wei Wuxian told Jiang Yanli where they were?) wasn't a good idea. He suddenly wanted to put up a barrier and make sure no one would come around. He was really curious about how far Wei Wuxian would go with these tentacles...

"Yellow," he said.

As per his word, the tentacles lowered Lan Zhan back down into the water and then dissipated. Wei Wuxian approached him and took his hands in his, then brought them up to his lips so he could kiss them. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Lan Zhan sighed heavily, shoving away his disappointment. "Yes," he said.

He didn't want to admit that the reason he'd bowed out was because he was getting too horny, but he wanted to somehow communicate how much he'd enjoyed it. He didn't want to put Wei Wuxian off from trying it again somewhere else.

"We aren't very secluded here," he said vaguely.

“So you _were_ enjoying it,” Wei Wuxian said. He smirked and rubbed Lan Zhan’s knuckles with his thumbs. “Good to know.”

Lan Zhan pulled his hands away and turned around, embarrassed. He was blushing so hard and it was making him lightheaded. He pinched his nose and ducked his head under the water for a few seconds to cool his face and ears off. It felt pretty nice, actually.

“If you wanted to be splashed, you should have just said so,” Wei Wuxian said when Lan Zhan came back up from the water. He grinned and splashed him.

Lan Zhan grabbed his hat and used it as a shield to block Wei Wuxian's attack. He peeked over the top of it to glare at him. "Why are you being a hellion?" he asked.

Wei Wuxian truthfully didn’t know why he was acting so childish. Something about messing around in the water just reminded him of his young teenage years, he supposed. That and he was just happy about him and Lan Zhan being an item now.

“Don’t say that like you don’t want to splash me back,” he said.

It had been many years since Lan Zhan had goofed around. “I’m not a child,” he said. Of course, he still pulled his hat completely off and used it to catapult a hatful of water at Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian shielded himself with his arms and roared with laughter. He grinned big and splashed him back again, his chest heaving with his laughter.

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but smile as he used his hat as a shield again. Truthfully, this was to be the happiest month of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *subtly adds ‘tentacle porn’ to the tags*


	29. New Friend

They played around in the river all day, catching frogs and exploring. Wei Wuxian taught Lan Zhan how to catch fish too, and they brought back a couple to cook for dinner.

Lan Zhan was exhausted by the time night rolled around, and he made his way to the guest bedroom under the suspicious eye of Madame Yu. It didn’t stop him from sneaking out in the middle of the night to slip in Wei Wuxian’s bed, though.

He was kind of tired of all the quiet sex they had been having, but there was nothing to be done about it. Only a few more weeks and they could go home and have as much fun as they wanted.

He knew Wei Wuxian slept a lot later than him, and after keeping him awake for an hour or so during the night, Lan Zhan decided to go ahead and start the day without him. He left a note on Wei Wuxian’s table saying that if he wasn’t in the kitchen or garden then he was at the farm.

He had to put his hair up in a topknot like he always did, since Wei Wuxian wasn’t awake to braid it for him. He wanted to avoid talking to people; at least, people whose opinions he cared about (especially since he still smelled pretty badly like Wei Wuxian and sex; he hoped that the cow smell would cover that up if he was out there long enough).

He took some fruits from the kitchen and made his way to the farm as the sky lightened bit by bit. It was nice to have some peace and quiet. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when he got to the farm, and he wasn’t surprised that the farm hand wasn’t out yet.

He realized he actually didn’t remember his name. Jiang... something. Oh well.

The cow he had milked came up to him and seemed to be demanding treats. He looked around and wondered if he could set her up to milk without help, but he didn’t want to mess anything up. He decided to wait for a little bit and see if the farm hand would show up.

Jiang Shisong had woken up at the crack of dawn. He’d grabbed himself something to eat and then heard the shuffling outside of the farmhouse. Who would be awake at this time and why were the cows making such a fuss? He grumbled and decided to peek out of the house, despite only wearing a pair of loose pants.

“Y-Young Master Lan…!” he stammered when he saw him.

He was just as beautiful as the last time he saw him, that beautiful silky dark hair and those long lashes… His face lit up red when he remembered the state of undress that he was in. “Just a moment!”

He hurried back inside to quickly grab a thin robe to tie over his chest and shoved on a pair of boots. Once he was done, he rushed over to Lan Zhan.

“Forgive my um, my immodesty. What are you doing out here? Is Young Master Wei not with you?” he asked.

Lan Zhan was in no place to judge, since he smelled like he’d just walked out of a whorehouse. (Okay, perhaps not _that_ bad, but he should probably go swim in the river for a bit before he returned to the house).

“He is asleep,” he said. “I would like to milk the cows if that is okay.”

“Yes! Yes of course, no problem at all. Would you like me to show you again or would you just like me to get the equipment?” Jiang Shisong asked with a shaky smile. Admittedly, he felt a little nervous being around Lan Zhan without Wei Wuxian there. It was just the two of them…

“If you could show me how to set it up I would appreciate it,” Lan Zhan said.

Jiang Shisong nodded quickly. “Not a problem.” He grabbed all of the equipment and then set out the stool before one of the cows. With each action, he explained what he was doing. “There we go,” he said. “Take a seat.”

Lan Zhan paid close attention. It was simple enough; he could do it himself if he returned in the morning again. He gave the cow some head rubs and then sat down to milk her. It was nice to get away for a little while, he thought.

Jiang Shisong monitored Lan Zhan for the first milking. This close, he got a pretty good whiff of his scent. He was no fool, he could smell Wei Wuxian oozing all over him.

Right. His mate.

Once he was done with the first cow, he set up his own stool to speed things up. As he did, he glanced at Lan Zhan. “I-I can take you to see the chickens after, if you would like,” he said.

He sounded so nervous, Lan Zhan thought. It reminded him of Shi Qianmu’s son. Both of them were awkward farm boys that fell over themselves around Lan Zhan. Were all farm boys like that? Maybe they would get along with each other.

“That would be nice,” he said. He could get some eggs to bring back. Would the Jiangs mind if he wasn’t there for breakfast? He really didn’t want to go.

“Some of the hens can be pretty moody in the morning but none of them are aggressive,” Jiang Shisong said with a hint of fondness.

“One time I was chased by a rooster at the Gusu farm,” Lan Zhan recalled. He was probably about ten, not too long after his father had left. His mother had taken him and his brother to the farm for the first time.

Jiang Shisong laughed softly. “What’s it like? In Gusu I mean. I’ve never left Yunmeng. If you don’t mind me asking…” he said.

Lan Zhan hummed. He would just leave it at ‘cold,’ but he wasn’t really sure that someone who lived in a place like this would be able to comprehend that.

“How cold does it get here?” he asked. “Does it snow?”

“Occasionally in the winter but it’s rare. I’ve only seen it a handful of times in my life but we have a place for the animals in case it ever does get really cold,” Jiang Shisong replied.

Lan Zhan wondered how much snow they got. Was it enough to cover the ground? “Some winters in Gusu the snow is tall enough to cover the doorway,” he said. “People freeze to death even with warm clothing on the coldest nights.”

Jiang Shisong’s eyes widened. He’d never seen snow that deep and people certainly didn’t die from the cold here in Yunmeng. “Wow!” he said. “That’s very cold!”

“Two winters ago the snow almost reached the third floor,” Lan Zhan continued. It was so normal to him; it was interesting that someone could be surprised by it. “We live on a mountain. The snow is not as thick at the bottom. But it is still cold.”

“It must have been a shock to you when you came here then… Do your summers get very warm over there?” Jiang Shisong asked.

“Not like this,” Lan Zhan said. His eyes were trained on the milk going into the bucket. “I could not wear my own clothes when I arrived. Even one layer of my summer clothes was too hot.”

“Everyone likes to go to the river here in the summer. It’s the only cool spot when the heat gets bad. Young Master Wei tends to be out there a lot,” Jiang Shisong said.

Lan Zhan’s ears reddened thinking about what happened at the river the day before. That was so risky... “We were in the river yesterday,” he said, feeling particularly talkative for some reason. “He terrorized me.”

Jiang Shisong blinked owlishly. He turned his head to look at Lan Zhan as he face shifted into one of concern. “Are you alright, Young Master Lan? He didn’t… hurt you or anything, did he?” he said.

Lan Zhan was confused for a moment, then he realized his sarcasm probably hadn’t gone across. “No,” he said. “He pushed me into the water and picked me up by his conjured tentacles and... did other things to me. Was a miscreant. It was... fun.”

He said the last part quietly, like it was a secret. He didn’t know why he was confiding in the farm hand. Maybe it was the concern. It was cute. He wished Gusu wasn’t so far away. He kind of wanted to introduce him to... gods what was that boy’s name? Shi Taibai?

Jiang Shisong let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank the Gods, I was worried for a moment there,” he said. He smiled a little. “But I am glad that you’re enjoying your time here. I admit, having the company here on the farm is nice.”

“Wei Wuxian’s family makes me nervous,” Lan Zhan admitted. “Except Jiang Wanyin. He threatened to fight me when we first met.”

“Yes, I… shall not speak ill of the Jiang family, they have done me and my father a great honour by providing us work,” Jiang Shisong said, suddenly unsure of his words. He cleared his throat. “But Young Master Jiang can be… rather abrasive at times.”

“It was nice to be seen as an equal,” Lan Zhan said. “And he is attractive. If Wei Wuxian had not gone to that school I might have...” He paused, trying to think of a nicer word than ‘fuck.’ “Made an attempt.”

Jiang Shisong swallowed roughly. “In any case, I would ask that you be careful about Young Master Jiang. He sometimes doesn’t know when to stop.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He wondered what made him say that, but he probably wouldn’t tell him. “I wonder where he got that from,” he said instead.

“His mother,” Jiang Shisong immediately answered. Then, he jolted in place and turned to Lan Zhan in panic. “But—ah! Madam Yu i-is a lovely woman, I certainly never meant to imply anything else of the sort! Please… don’t say I said anything.”

Lan Zhan blinked a few times. “I will not,” he said, then he admitted, “She frightens me. She is making me sleep in the guest room.”

“I thought… I heard that you and Young Master Wei are to be wed? Aren’t you engaged?” Jiang Shisong asked.

Lan Zhan felt a prick of annoyance and his squeezes got a little too intense and made the cow shift a bit. He loosened his grip. “I wish I could tell her the things I have done to him and that I have every right to sleep in his bed if I so wish,” he vented under his breath, his ears reddening a little. “She would behead me.”

“Well… I am glad that Young Master Wei has found someone he likes enough to marry. He has always been kind to me,” Jiang Shisong said. He smiled down at his feet. “And to a kind beauty like you, he is lucky.”

Lan Zhan glanced at him and sighed. There was that guilt again. “You would not say that if you knew how I treated him before last week,” he admitted.

He felt a little nervous, but also it felt... good to say it out loud. He had told Wei Wuxian plenty of times that he was sorry and he knew he had been forgiven, but still. Maybe time would help him get over it.

“What makes you say that? Ah, again, if you don’t mind me asking…” Jiang Shisong said. He had no idea where the line of boundaries were.

Lan Zhan glanced at him again. He wouldn’t run his mouth about it, so it was safe to tell him. Still, he said, “You cannot tell anyone. Only Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin know.”

Jiang Shisong shook his head rapidly. “No sir! No. I won’t say a word about it, Young Master Lan.”

Lan Zhan turned back to focus on the udder. “I did not want to date Wei Wuxian,” he said. “The idea scared me. But I wanted to sleep with him. I refused his romantic advances but I seduced him. It was cruel. I thought it was a mutual agreement, but he had been hoping that I would fall for him romantically. I hurt him.”

“Surely… Surely that’s not your fault if you thought that you both wanted the same thing? You do not owe the young master a romantic relationship if you do not want one,” Jiang Shisong said. “But even if you hurt him, clearly he has forgiven you. He looks at you so sweetly. As long as you are happy now, that’s what matters. There’s no use carrying guilt.”

Lan Zhan stuck his bottom lip out a little. “I was a fool,” he said. “Perhaps I will feel less bad as time passes. It was only last week that I realized I could not live without him.”

“Better late than never, no?” Jiang Shisong said. He gave Lan Zhan his best smile as he finished up milking the last cow.

“Mm.”

Lan Zhan focused on milking after that. He did feel better after talking to someone about it.

Once all the milking was done, Jiang Shisong got up from the stool and they carried the buckets of milk to a safe place. He turned to look at Lan Zhan and gestured for him to follow.

"Come, I'll take you to the chickens."

Lan Zhan was proud of his bucket of milk, even though Jiang Shisong had gotten his done eight times faster. Thankfully his scent had been somewhat masked by the cow smell now.

“What do you feed them?” he asked.

"Mostly corn I throw in the leftover bits of fruit and vegetables when I can. Some of them are quite picky though, like small children," Jiang Shisong said with a light laugh.

Lan Zhan pulled out the apple core he had stuck in his pocket on his way to the farm. When he got to the chickens, he found a big rock to sit on and he held the core in his hands and put as much magic into it as he could. Growing things still took a lot of time, unfortunately.

Jiang Shisong watched with amazement as Lan Zhan grew the apple in his palm. “I-I know that you’re a mage but I’ve never seen such a thing with my own two eyes before! Is that apple edible?” he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. He continued staring intensely and growing the apple until it was finally full again, and grew out the stem a little longer so he could hold it. He held out the apple to the curious chickens that had gathered. They looked at the apple, their beaks open and throats moving like the frogs’ had, them one pecked at it. Suddenly all of the surrounding chickens wanted a piece.

Jiang Shisong laughed as the chickens seemed to go wild for the apple that Lan Zhan was holding. He’d never seen them like that. “I think you’re their new favourite person,” he said.

“When Wei Wuxian gets here he can help me grow it faster,” Lan Zhan said. He suddenly wanted to show off his skills. He plucked a tiny flower from the grass and held the stem in his fingers, then used his magic to turn it from white to a bright yellow.

“Wow! Even so, you’re amazing! You must be very smart, Young Master Lan,” Jiang Shisong said fondly, watching in awe.

Lan Zhan held the flower out for a chicken to peck at it. “I was raised in a university,” he said. “It would be a shame if I was not.”

Jiang Shisong shook his head, still smiling. “You shouldn’t downplay your talents. Even if somebody taught you how to do this, it is still impressive.”

Lan Zhan pulled the apple core away from the chickens and started growing it again. They came closer but he held it out of reach. “I learned how to do this through reading,” he said. “It is not a common field.”

In the meantime, while Lan Zhan regrew the apple, Jiang Shisong threw out some corn for the chicken as a distraction. “Well, that’s even more impressive!” he said.

Lan Zhan hummed. He didn’t know why people thought it was so cool to teach oneself something; it just required a lot of curiosity and free time. Most people didn’t have the kind of free time that he had as a teenager.

When the apple was grown again he set it down on the ground and let the chickens have it. He enjoyed watching them and listening to them cluck. He wanted one...

“Now’s a good time to collect the egg while they’re eating,” Jiang Shisong said. He pointed to a woven basket by Lan Zhan’s feet. “Grab the basket and you can help me get them.”

Lan Zhan took the basket and stood up. “The Gusu farm has a variety of chickens,” he said. “They have some that lay blue and green eggs.”

“Blue and green eggs? How is that possible?” Jiang Shisong asked. He started making his way through and picking up the eggs that had been left behind by the chickens. With every one he found, he placed it in Lan Zhan’s basket.

Lan Zhan looked around as well, digging through the grass and straw in spots where it looked liked chickens had been sitting. “I do not know,” he said. “They are smaller eggs and taste the same. But people will pay more because they look interesting.”

“How bizarre…” Jiang Shisong said. He and Lan Zhan collected a few more eggs to put in the basket and then there were none left. “There. I think that’s all of them.”

Lan Zhan looked at the eggs happily. He really did love this kind of thing. “Is there anything else I can help with?” he asked.

“I will probably prepare myself something to eat now… But you are welcome to take a bucket of milk and the basket of eggs back to the estate. Thank you for all your help, young master,” Jiang Shisong said. He bowed politely towards Lan Zhan. “You are welcome back anytime you like to help during your stay.”

Lan Zhan nodded. He was a little disappointed, but it was nice to have some time away from everyone. He went back to the barn and got the milk he had collected, then made his way back to the house.

It was well into the morning now, probably past breakfast. He wondered if Wei Wuxian was awake yet. He didn’t really want to go back into the house, though the cow smell had probably covered everything up by now. Maybe he could hide in the garden...

“Did you get those from the farm?” Wei Wuxian approached Lan Zhan immediately once he saw him.

He had seen his note when he woke and gone for breakfast with his family, then paced around the house. He had figured that he’d gone to the farm but he feared that if he interrupted without cause, he would seem overbearing.

Lan Zhan nodded. He continued quickly to the kitchen so he could set the items on the counter, then he retreated back towards the garden. “Let’s go to the river,” he said.

“Right now? Jiejie saved you some breakfast, have you eaten this morning?” Wei Wuxian asked, quickly chasing after Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan rubbed his lips together. Breakfast was probably a good idea, but... “I didn’t bathe this morning,” he whispered. “Do I still smell like you?”

Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Zhan’s wrist and pulled him over to him so he could scent him, taking a deep inhale of his scent from his neck. “A little. It’s mostly disguised by the smell of… cows? You’ve been milking the cows,” he said.

Lan Zhan nodded. “Where are Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan?” he asked.

“Inside. What did you want to go to the river for? Did you want me to tease you again?” Wei Wuxian asked with a grin.

Lan Zhan shoved him lightly. “Save it for tonight,” he said. “If we don’t go to the river then I will take a bath. What are we doing today?”

“Oh no, we can go to the river, my dear,” Wei Wuxian teased. He nudged Lan Zhan with his elbow and then took his hand to start pulling him towards the river. “I hadn’t planned anything specifically just yet… Is there anything you wanted to do in Yunmeng?”

“The city,” Lan Zhan said. He wanted to look around the shops and maybe make some money too. “Will the Jiangs care if we do not return to the house tonight?”

“They can’t complain if I’m taking you into the city. It will be nice to not have to sneak around if we’re staying in an inn together,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

“I mean in the forest,” Lan Zhan said, reminding him. “We have to go somewhere no one else is around.”

Wei Wuxian blinked quickly. He couldn’t believe he’d already forgotten about that. “Oh! Yes well… I’ll just say that I’m taking you out. Whatever it is you have planned, it’ll take all night?”

Lan Zhan hummed. “It might,” he said. “We should prepare to sleep there just in case.” He had enough money to buy a tent and sleeping bags if Wei Wuxian didn’t have any.

“Okay. I have some sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows we can take out. We can… say it’s a camping trip! I think we have a tent we could use too,” Wei Wuxian suggested.

Lan Zhan smiled a little. It would be fun. He was excited to show him what the gifts were, he knew he would love it. “We can get food to take too,” he said.

“Have you ever been camping before, Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian asked. It was something he and Jiang Wanyin had done growing up.

Lan Zhan nodded. “Once,” he said. His father was the one that took him. It was interesting, though not the most fun thing he’d ever done. He knew it would be different this time, though.

“Ahhh this is going to be so much fun!” Wei Wuxian chirped. He ran towards the river and threw off his boots and upper body clothing to jump right into the water.


	30. Giggle Potion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TW:** (magical) drug use
> 
> these next 3 chapters are like, my favorites in part 2 🥺

After playing around in the river for a few hours, they got dressed again and headed to the city. After eating lunch, Lan Zhan made his way around the vendors and made some money. He was getting used to doing it by now.

When the sun was getting low, they headed back to the house and got ready for their little trip. Lan Zhan bathed and gathered his supplies, then waited for Wei Wuxian to join him.

They walked until the sun dipped over the horizon, then Lan Zhan cast a magelight so they could find a good spot to set up camp. He liked how dense the forest was; it gave plenty of privacy, he thought. The leaves were a lot more numerous and low to the ground than they were in Gusu.

They found a little meadow and decided to claim it, setting out their things. “Do you want to light a fire or use a magelight?” Lan Zhan asked. Magelights were convenient, though the orange glow of a fire was more aesthetically pleasing.

“We have to have the authentic camping experience. We’ll light a fire,” Wei Wuxian said. He gathered some viable firewood and sat down in the meadow to start building the fire.

Lan Zhan looked around for some rocks and set them next to Wei Wuxian so he could make a barrier, then he got out the tent and started setting it up. “We should eat dinner before I give you the gift,” he said.

“You’ve been killing me with the anticipation of what this gift is going to be,” Wei Wuxian said with a small whine. He cheered when the fire finally blossomed and he stood up to admire his handiwork. It was a pleasing sight in the midst of all the nature around them.

Lan Zhan managed to get the tent set up, then he went and got out the dumplings he had bought to eat for dinner. “Can you conjure light?” he asked before he realized what a stupid question that was, considering that magelights were a low level conjuration spell.

Wei Wuxian laughed at the question. “Yes of course I can. Conjuring light is one of the first things they teach you when you’re learning conjuration.”

Lan Zhan sat next to Wei Wuxian and gave him his dumplings, which were a lot spicier than the ones he had gotten for himself. “I saw a student making rainbows once,” he said. “It was pretty.”

“The possibilities are pretty much endless when it comes to conjuration,” Wei Wuxian said before popping a dumpling into his mouth. He hummed at the spicy taste, not realising how hungry he was until he was eating something.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan leaned his head on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder while he ate, staring at the fire. He was also itching with anticipation, ready to get out his potions.

“It is nice to be away from everyone,” he said. “We have had to be quiet in the inns and at the house.”

“Don’t worry, we can go back to all the wild crazy sex as soon as we go back to Gusu,” Wei Wuxian said with a light laugh. He planted a gentle kiss on the top of Lan Zhan’s head and wrapped his arm around him.

Lan Zhan huffed. “You almost did yesterday,” he said. He really hadn’t stopped thinking about those tentacles. He might have let it slip the night before that he had liked it...

“No one would hear you out here either,” Wei Wuxian mumbled into his ear. He pulled away shortly after to shove another dumpling into his mouth.

Lan Zhan blushed, though he didn’t say anything. He might have been hoping they could do something more... intense than usual. But not before he gave Wei Wuxian his gift.

He popped the last dumpling in his mouth and moved away so he could get the potions from his bag. He unwrapped the cloth and lay them out on the ground in front of him. Four small vials and one glass bottle.

“I bought something when we were in my father’s shop,” he said.

“You _were_ looking,” Wei Wuxian accused before quickly shoving his last dumpling in his mouth too. He got a closer look at the bottles. “What are they?”

“Recreational potions,” Lan Zhan said. “The small ones you just drink one, but the big one you can drink as much as you want but you should probably keep it really light. It is best not to mix them, so you can choose which one you want. The small ones are called green bliss, the other is a giggle potion.”

“Green bliss? What’s green bliss do? The giggle potion sounds pretty self-explanatory. I can’t believe you’re actually asking me to be _more_ annoying than usual,” Wei Wuxian said playfully.

Lan Zhan smiled a little. “It is a gift,” he said. “Green bliss makes you feel... good. Relaxed. I have never taken it before but it is one of the softer kinds.”

Wei Wuxian picked up the big bottle and hummed. He popped it open and took a whiff before taking a swig. He licked his lips. “How long does it take to set in?” he asked.

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened. He didn’t know how much Wei Wuxian just drank, but if it was anything bigger than a sip then he was about to lose it. Lan Zhan took the potion back and closed it, setting it safely on the ground.

“You might want to get away from the fire,” he said.

“Why? Oh—” Wei Wuxian was cut off by a tickle in his throat which made him laugh. He slapped his hand over his mouth as a smile broke out.

Lan Zhan went ahead picked up the potion again, taking a too-big sip and putting it back. He stood up and took Wei Wuxian’s hand so he could pull them a foot or so away from the fire. He probably had about fifteen seconds before it hit.

“Lan Zhan! I love you soooooo much!” Wei Wuxian cried out. He laughed and grabbed Lan Zhan’s waist to launch him into the air. “You’re a genius and I love you! Did you hear me trees?! I love this maaaaaaaaan!”

The laughter was setting off his balance and Wei Wuxian soon fell backwards onto his ass, Lan Zhan still wrapped up in his arms, but that only made him laugh harder.

Lan Zhan had been trying to hold it in, but when he fell on top of Wei Wuxian he couldn’t anymore. He snorted, _loud,_ and slapped a hand over his mouth as the laughing started.

Hearing Lan Zhan laugh only made things worse. “You… You just snorted! Hahaha, Lan Zhan, you snorted!” he cried.

Lan Zhan hid his face against Wei Wuxian’s chest. He slapped his shoulder a few times, trying to get a hold of himself, but it was no use. He gasped for air, only to wheeze with more giggles. “You drank so much!” he cried. “One sss—“

“You said… You said a little! Little, Lan Zhan, little…! ‘t was a little haha…” Wei Wuxian protested but it was hard to speak through the laughter. Even so, when he finally caught his breath, he rolled over so Lan Zhan was underneath him.

Lan Zhan made a sound that could only be described as a squeal. After looking up at Wei Wuxian, he squeezed his eyes shut and pushed out tears, laughing so hard he went silent for a moment.

It was an adorable sight. Wei Wuxian, between his own bouts of laughter, couldn’t help leaning down to press kisses all over his face and down his neck. But it was shortlived for he couldn’t help blowing raspberries against his skin.

That was too much. Lan Zhan wasn’t even sure it was all the giggle potion anymore, he just couldn’t stop laughing now that he’d started. He rolled onto his side. “No!” he howled, “Stop!”

“I can’t! Lan Zhan is too cute!” came Wei Wuxian’s reply. He laughed harder, his throat and chest beginning ache with how hard he laughed.

_Gods help me,_ Lan Zhan thought. He rolled onto his stomach and tried to breathe. He managed to calm down for a brief moment, staring at the ground in front of him. He hadn’t actually laughed that hard in... a very, very long time. It felt _good._

“Where are you goooooing, my darling?” Wei Wuxian continued. He climbed back over Lan Zhan and nuzzled against the back of his neck with a chuckle. “Don’t goooo, I love yooou!”

The laughter came back in full force, leaving Lan Zhan breathless again. He felt renewed after that brief respite. He somehow managed to squirm out from under Wei Wuxian and he stumbled to his feet, getting away from him.

“Nooooo!” Wei Wuxian wept as Lan Zhan squirmed away from him. He quickly got up to his feet and chased after him, swinging his arms around him and jumping onto his back when he grabbed hold of him.

Instincts took over and Lan Zhan grabbed Wei Wuxian’s arm and planted his feet in the ground. He squatted and used the momentum to haul Wei Wuxian over his shoulder and onto the ground. Once he heard the thud, he paused and realized what he had done. He busted out laughing again, though he stumbled over to kneel next to Wei Wuxian.

“I’m sorry!” he cried between giggles.

For a moment, Wei Wuxian just laid there on the ground. He blinked rapidly up at the sky, at the small clearing between the trees. Arousal suddenly thrummed through his body.

Lan Zhan had really just… thrown him over like that.

But it didn’t take long for him to burst into laughter, despite the pain. He made grabby hands towards Lan Zhan. “Come kiss it better!” he yelled.

Lan Zhan threw one leg over Wei Wuxian’s hips and lay on him. He kissed him once, though that was all he could manage before he snorted (quietly this time) and buried his face in Wei Wuxian’s neck to giggle some more.

“I didn’t mean to—“ another snort, “force of habit...”

Wei Wuxian's laughter matched Lan Zhan. He quickly forgot about all the pain in a situation like this. All he could utter between his chuckles was an abrupt: "My dick is hard."

That snapped Lan Zhan out of it for a few seconds. He sat up and wiggled his hips a little — and sure enough, it really was. He stared down at Wei Wuxian blankly before covering his mouth and giggling, embarrassingly high pitched.

He forced out, “Didn’t know the potion did that!” before leaning forward and laughing again, hitting the ground a few times.

"I don't know if it does! Just kinda turned me on when you threw me around like... like that!" Wei Wuxian replied between bouts of laughter. His hands quickly came to grab Lan Zhan's hips to pull him back, chasing the friction.

Lan Zhan stopped laughing when an idea came to him. If throwing him around got Wei Wuxian in the mood, then... He lifted up one leg to trap Wei Wuxian’s arm, then grabbed the other one and held it above his head. He shuffled forward and pulled Wei Wuxian into a triangle choke from the top, one leg hooked around his neck and the other thigh pressing against the arm he had held up. He didn’t put any pressure on it, though the position itself was quite uncomfortable for the person on the bottom even without force.

“Tap me if you submit,” he said. The potion was still in effect, but instead of giggling Lan Zhan was just grinning ear to ear.

Under any other normal circumstances, Wei Wuxian would have fought back. However, while he was lighter than air and incredibly horny, the word _submit_ was the only thing running through Wei Wuxian's mind. So, between choked giggles, he tapped him.

Lan Zhan let go and rolled off of him, but he wasn’t done with him yet. He prowled back over to Wei Wuxian, snickering, and slotted himself between his legs. He didn’t stay there long, though. He performed a series of moves that were muscle memory to him by now, exercises he often did in his martial arts classes. He swept Wei Wuxian onto his side and then got him in the side control position, then with a playful growl he moved back to mount with his legs on either side of him. He grabbed Wei Wuxian and hauled himself to the side and onto his back, quickly locking his legs around Wei Wuxian’s waist and trapping him between his legs. With his ankles crossed, he could move Wei Wuxian wherever he wanted just with his legs. He teasingly swayed him side to side with this new leverage, letting out a very mean-sounding laugh.

Wei Wuxian whined between all the giggling. Even though Lan Zhan was doing whatever he pleased, he felt no desire to push back just yet. “Lan Zhaaaaaan…” he said. “Ahaha…come on… let me go!”

Lan Zhan let go with his legs, but only to put his feet on his abdomen and lift him in the air. He held onto his arms to keep him balanced and laughed.

That made Wei Wuxian laugh harder, though it was difficult with the pressure on his stomach. He pretended to swim in the air. “I’m flying, Lan Zhan!” he announced.

Lan Zhan giggled and tee-hee’d while he swayed Wei Wuxian this way and that in the air. When he got bored of that, he set him down and rolled away and to his feet. He ran away a little ways and then turned around to face him.

Wei Wuxian was quick to jump back onto his feet and chase after Lan Zhan with open arms. “Don’t run away from meeee hahaha,” he said. “Come back!”

Lan Zhan got into battle stance. When Wei Wuxian reached him, he grabbed his arm and twirled in so his back was to Wei Wuxian’s chest. He squatted and bucked his hips back while pulling his arm forward. This catapulted Wei Wuxian over his hip, though he tried to keep him from falling as hard as he did last time.

Working on muscle memory again, he swiftly went with the momentum and jumped into an arm lock, his thighs hugging his arm and pressing against his neck and side. He held Wei Wuxian’s arm to his chest and slowly, carefully pressed his hips up. He could probably snap his arm in two if he shoved his hips up really hard, so he had to make sure he was being gentle.

“Tap if you submit,” he said.

Wei Wuxian tapped after a few moments. “Haven’t I submitted enough to you, Lan Zhan? I’m basically letting you do whatever you want to me.”

“You should try to win then,” Lan Zhan said. He rolled away from Wei Wuxian and stood up again. He was so dirty at this point from all the rolling around; grass was stuck in his hair and clothes.

“What if I want you to win?” Wei Wuxian asked with a hum. He grinned up at Lan Zhan, a playful look in his eyes.

“Then I’ll keep winning,” Lan Zhan said simply. The potion was starting to wear off, but he still had a slight smirk on his lips.

"Aren't you going to take your prize?" Wei Wuxian asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Lan Zhan as he spoke.

“My prize is the feeling of victory,” Lan Zhan said. He returned to the campfire and rooted through his bag until he found his snack bag. He took out a pastry and munched on it.

"I'd like to tell the Lan Zhan who had only known me a week that I offered you sex just now and you turned me down," Wei Wuxian said as he pushed himself up off the ground and followed Lan Zhan to the campfire.

“I would tell him that I know you’ll come back and I’m holding out for something better,” Lan Zhan said.

Wei Wuxian plopped down next to him by the fire. "Something better than me? That's cold."

Lan Zhan snickered quietly into his snack. “You know what I mean,” he said. _If you want me you’ll have to fight for it,_ he wanted to say. Not quite yet.

Now he was feeling more calm, Wei Wuxian hummed as he focused his energy. He summoned a few small tentacles, just enough to steal the pastry right out of Lan Zhan's hands and deposit it into his own and take a bite.

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened and he gasped. That wasn’t part of the deal. He stared at Wei Wuxian in disbelief before snatching the food back and shoving it all in his mouth.

“The manners on you! What would you uncle say if he saw this?” Wei Wuxian said, looking equally scandalised. He pushed Lan Zhan to the floor on his back and climbed on top of him to capture his lips in a kiss.

Lan Zhan made a disgruntled noise and shot his hips up, grabbing Wei Wuxian’s arm. This made it easy to roll him over. He sat up on his knees and finished chewing and swallowing his food. “You were rude first,” he said.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips as he looked up at Lan Zhan. “Somehow I don’t think that _he did it first_ would stand up against your uncle.”

He was right, it wouldn’t. Still, Lan Zhan went back to sit by the fire and said, “It stands up against me.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Wei Wuxian replied. He shuffled back by Lan Zhan’s side and reached for his own snacks so he could start munching. Stealing Lan Zhan’s had given him an appetite.

Lan Zhan leaned on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder contentedly. “We should wrestle for real when we get back to Gusu,” he said. “We talked about it before but we never did.”

“So I can kick your ass when I’m not high on giggle potion? Of course,” Wei Wuxian said with a laugh.

Lan Zhan hummed. “I could probably beat you then too,” he said. “Maybe not every time but I could.”

“Guess you’ll have to prove it,” Wei Wuxian said. He shoved another handful of snacks in his mouth.

“I can prove it now,” Lan Zhan said. “You’re not high anymore.” The ground wasn’t really a comfortable place to wrestle, but it would do.

Wei Wuxian put down his snacks and turned towards Lan Zhan. He cocked an eyebrow at him. “Come on then,” he said. “I’ll actually try this time.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes brightened and he stood up. He moved away from the fire and turned to face Wei Wuxian, getting into a battle stance. “Come,” he said.

“You asked for it,” Wei Wuxian declared. He hopped to his feet and chuckled before he charged at Lan Zhan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there’s no good spots to split these chapters up i’m sorry 😩


	31. Wei Wuxian’s Little Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tentacle porn ahead 😱

Lan Zhan executed another hip throw, though he wasn't as gentle this time. With the breath knocked out of Wei Wuxian, he sailed into an arm lock and put a little more pressure, urging him to tap out from the pain.

He fought back this time, but Lan Zhan kept his legs tight and eventually Wei Wuxian tapped him. Victorious, he rolled away but crawled back and sat between Wei Wuxian's legs. Now that he had one win under his belt, he was willing to play a _little_ more fair. Though, arm locks were perfectly fair in his book; they just didn't give a lot of opportunity to fight back unless you were also skilled in martial arts.

He held his hand out so Wei Wuxian could shake it and officially start the match. "Round two," he said.

“Such dirty tricks, Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said with a huff. He shook his hand regardless and prepared himself for the next round.

Lan Zhan went for a choke first, snaking the backs of his hands along Wei Wuxian's neck and gripping his shirt. Before he could twist his hands and choke him, though, Wei Wuxian grabbed his arms and flung him over onto his back, trapping them. It wasn't anything Lan Zhan had never seen before, though usually his sparring partners were a little less brutish.

He struggled until he could wrap his legs around his waist in the guard position, then he used them to shove him upwards and yank his hands out of his grip. Keeping his hands close to his chest, Lan Zhan pressed himself against Wei Wuxian's chest and crept his hands up so he could try to choke him again. He got comments about being a monkey with how hard he clung to him, even when Wei Wuxian stood up and tried to swing him around.

He almost made it. He had his hands in the right position and he twisted, but Wei Wuxian managed to pry him off before it could do anything substantial. Lan Zhan fought to stay close, using his locked ankles and leg muscles to keep him glued to Wei Wuxian's body, but even he had limits.

He enjoyed watching Wei Wuxian struggle for a while; clearly he had never wrestled with someone who was skilled in jiu jitsu. But he was smart, and eventually he started experimenting with different things to detach him. Lan Zhan was impressed with how fast he learned. And he was strong, too. When he put a hand on Lan Zhan's abdomen and _pushed,_ Lan Zhan grit his teeth and huffed with the effort it took to keep his ankles locked.

He knew he was at his limit, so he had to act. He broke guard and went for an arm lock from the bottom, but Wei Wuxian rightfully distrusted him and yanked his arm away before he could do it. Before he knew it he was tossed onto his stomach and Wei Wuxian's entire body weight held him down. Lan Zhan grunted and went limp for a moment, trying to think of how to get out of this. There was a way, he knew...

“Not so strong down on the ground like this now are we?” Wei Wuxian mumbled with a deep breath and a smile.

Lan Zhan growled quietly, feeling frustrated. He had to keep in control of himself and _focus._ He wiggled his arms up under his chest and tried to pull his knees up, but Wei Wuxian pressed his weight down on his thighs to keep them still. He eventually managed to get one foot hooked around Wei Wuxian's ankle, then he used his hands and free leg to shove himself to the side and roll them over. Wei Wuxian rolled onto his back with Lan Zhan in his arms, and Lan Zhan took a deep breath and swung his legs up towards the sky and over his head. With his knees now planted above Wei Wuxian's head, he used the loosening grip to grab onto Wei Wuxian's arms and push himself out of the rolled up position and get away from him.

He stood with his hands on his knees, panting hard. Fighting Wei Wuxian was harder than he expected. He had managed to last a while, though... maybe he could pull off an arm bar if he was quick.

“Come on, Lan Zhan, is that the best you’ve got? Why don’t you just submit already?” Wei Wuxian taunted, grinning from ear to ear.

Lan Zhan took a deep breath and stood back up. He went at Wei Wuxian again, this time taking him down by simply unbalancing him. He was getting tired, and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. But he was going to fight for as long as he could until then. Wei Wuxian had a lot of energy, though he suspected it was because he didn't have to put as much strength into it.

It was another whopping half hour before he finally gave up. He was sweating like mad and his body screamed at him to rest. He had been going at it for the better part of an hour. He was once again trapped on his stomach with Wei Wuxian on top of him, and he just didn't have the energy to roll them over again. He reached up and slapped Wei Wuxian's shoulder a few times to submit.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and let Lan Zhan go. He looked down at him with a playful twinkle in his eyes. It was just as he expected, though Lan Zhan put up a better fight than he thought he would. “Guess you lost,” he said.

Lan Zhan's breath was heavy even as he slowed it down. He rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes, letting his body recover. It was tingling and hot from the workout. He made a vague noise in response.

Wei Wuxian didn’t hesitate to mount Lan Zhan properly and rut against his backside. He leaned down to nose at his neck and scent him with a croon. “Do you remember our agreement?” he said.

Lan Zhan blinked his eyes open. "What agreement?" he asked. It rang a bell. They had talked about wrestling before, he knew. He crawled forward a little in vain to escape Wei Wuxian's violations. Couldn't he have a five minute break?

Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Zhan's hips and dragged him back through the dirt, then let out a growl. "The winner fucks the loser."

_Oh._ Lan Zhan couldn't deny the spark of arousal when he remembered _that_ conversation.

"It took you an hour to win," he said, "I took only five seconds." Granted, he was in no place to do any fucking. He just had to rub it in a little.

"I didn't try to fight back then," Wei Wuxian replied. He growled louder this time and nipped at the back of Lan Zhan's neck as he pressed his hard cock against him.

Lan Zhan groaned and squirmed a little. "Yes you did, it was right when we started for real," he argued.

"You're just being stubborn. You wanted me to win, I can smell it on you. You wanted me to push you to the ground and take whatever I wanted," Wei Wuxian said. "Such a naughty boy."

He was right, but Lan Zhan wasn't about to give up his pride like that. "I wouldn't have gone for an hour if I did," he said. He made a weak attempt to crawl away again, though his arms really were killing him. It was fun to make an effort anyway.

Wei Wuxian let out another growl and then grabbed Lan Zhan's hips to hike them up into the air, shuffling to flip up his robes as well. "You fought for an hour because you're stubborn, like I said. Plus, what fun would it be if I didn't win fair and square?" He chuckled.

Doing this in the middle of the forest was a new kind of thrill Lan Zhan was afraid he'd become addicted to. He let Wei Wuxian manhandle him, telling himself that he wouldn't be able to fight it even if he wanted to. (He probably could muster up the effort, but...)

"You're an ass... taking advantage..." Deciding to push him a little more to see what else he would do, he tilted his hips to the side and let himself fall down, and he lifted up one aching leg to push Wei Wuxian away. "You'll have to do more than that," he taunted him.

Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Zhan’s leg and pushed him full onto his back. He grabbed his waist this time and pulled him towards him until he was nestled directly between his legs, then pushed his legs up towards his chest. “This excites you, doesn’t it?” he said.

“Not as much as it could,” Lan Zhan egged him on. “Don’t you want to use your magic too?” He didn’t have the energy to force his legs down, but he did reach down and start prying Wei Wuxian’s hands off.

That made Wei Wuxian laughed. He focused his energy and a swarm of black tentacles appeared out from the ground. They shot out to grab Lan Zhan’s wrists and pin them above his head. “You _did_ like this in the river,” he said.

_Success,_ Lan Zhan thought. He was too smug to argue or cover up the change in his scent as the cold tentacles touched his heated skin. He tugged against the restraints and asked, “Would you really have done anything out in the open?”

“Perhaps,” Wei Wuxian replied. He rubbed his palm over Lan Zhan’s crotch, thumbing his cock before dipping to press against his pussy through his pants. “I would have had them slid under your clothes… I couldn’t expose you to anyone who could see. You are mine after all.”

The idea of those things going under his clothes, touching him, going _inside,_ it sent a violent shiver through Lan Zhan. He could feel the slick building up now. He wasn’t as sure of himself anymore — now that he’d gotten what he wanted, he realized that it was a lot harder to fight back like this. He might have forgotten about how frustrated he had been the day before, focused mostly on the erotic aspects of it.

“Wei Wuxian,” he mumbled nervously.

“Yes, darling?” Wei Wuxian said, smiling as he pressed harder and rubbed Lan Zhan’s opening through the fabric. He was already getting wet in a situation like this, and it was incredibly arousing.

Lan Zhan squirmed and panted softly. This whole thing made him tingly and sensitive. He closed his legs, though he left a bit of space for Wei Wuxian’s hand — not that he could squeeze them together for very long anyway.

“Do you want me, Lan Zhan, or would you rather me use my little friends that are holding you there?” Wei Wuxian asked.

Lan Zhan liked both options, though he was extremely curious about what it might feel like to be fucked by one of those things. He couldn’t just _say_ that, though. He glanced up at the tentacles holding his wrists and made a quiet, frustrated noise and looked away.

“I didn’t hear an answer,” Wei Wuxian continued. He grabbed the waistband of his pants and begun wiggling them down his hips and off the ends of his feet.

Being undressed out in the open was a particular kind of embarrassing. Lan Zhan whimpered quietly. Was Wei Wuxian really going to do this to him? Make him talk?

“The... things...” he forced out after a few moments.

“See? That wasn’t so hard now was it?” Wei Wuxian said with a chuckle. He let go of Lan Zhan’s legs and sat back. More tentacles came from underneath them, a few looping around his legs to keep Lan Zhan spread and the others sliding over his cock.

“Nn— _aah—“_ Lan Zhan squirmed again, fighting against the hold. It was kind of terrifying actually; his heart was beating hard and fast in his chest. But it was _thrilling._ It almost felt like he was in some kind of erotic nightmare, about to be devoured by some monster. He had never seen anything like these tentacles until Wei Wuxian had shown them to him, and it reminded him of some of the drawings of fantastic or demonic creatures in books. He watched with wide eyes as they crawled over his skin like snakes, wrapping around his shaft. He shuddered.

Wei Wuxian palmed his own cock as he watched. The tentacles oozed with some kind of slick as they rubbed up and down on Lan Zhan’s cock, one coming up to tease his tip. Another slid down to rub against Lan Zhan’s opening.

Lan Zhan’s body gave up once more and he went limp. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from it. It was surreal to be touched by something like this.

When one of them touched his vaginal entrance he made a nervous sound and flailed briefly, trying to sit up so he could look. It was no use though, since his abdominal muscles were so tired, and he flopped back down. He gave Wei Wuxian a wide-eyed, desperate look.

With his struggling, Wei Wuxian seemed to notice what he was trying to do. He lifted Lan Zhan’s body with the tentacles wrapped around his legs to bend his lower body towards his chest. This way, Lan Zhan had a better view of what was going on down there. The tentacles rubbed against his opening more before one slid inside.

Lan Zhan gasped and cried out from the intrusion. It felt different than anything he’d put in there before. It was cold and slimy and _squishy_ too. Even though it was pretty thick, it squeezed in without stretching him too much. He watched obsessively as it slid inside like some kind of... he didn’t even know what to compare it to. It was monstrous.

Wei Wuxian took out his cock and begun openly stroking it. His eyes were locked onto Lan Zhan and the movement of the tentacles, he idly leaned over and pawed at his pussy, spreading him slightly so he could get a better look at where the tentacle had sunk inside him. The tentacle’s ooze mixed with his slick and it slowly begun to thrust in and out of him.

This wasn’t like the other times Wei Wuxian watched him. Lan Zhan had always felt powerful then, but this was the opposite. Wei Wuxian could move him however he wanted, touch him wherever and whenever. Lan Zhan secretly loved it.

The fucking was also different than what he was used to, but equally as overwhelming. The squelching noises were so much worse than they ever had been. Lan Zhan let his head rest on the ground and shuddered. This was one of the most arousing things he’d ever experienced.

“Make it... a little bigger,” he breathed. He liked how squishy it was, he wanted it to really fill him up.

That, Wei Wuxian could do. He let the tentacle inside Lan Zhan inflate in size until it was a little thicker than his cock, spreading him out nice and wide. “There,” Wei Wuxian said breathlessly. “You’re spread so beautifully, A-Zhan.”

Lan Zhan moaned behind his lips. The tentacle pushed against his inner walls harder this time, but it felt _good._ He felt slick ooze out of him (or was that from the tentacle?) and he felt just as spread open as Wei Wuxian said. His legs lay limp to the sides, held there by the restraints that hugged them. That alone sent another wave of pleasure through him and he shivered again.

“I can’t believe how much you like this,” Wei Wuxian mumbled. He ran his fingers through the combination of slick and tentacle ooze dripping out of him. As the tentacle kept thrusting in and out of Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian spared a glance at his face before he gently prodded at his asshole with his slick-covered finger.

Lan Zhan tensed up with a gasp. He blinked owlishly at Wei Wuxian, then looked down at where his hand disappeared behind the tentacle. The pleasure was too much for him to focus on that, though. He let his head fall back again and he closed his eyes, his mouth open and panting.

“You know the colours if you want something to change or stop,” Wei Wuxian reassured him softly.

He eased his finger all the way inside his asshole until his knuckle touched the rim. It was much tighter than his vagina and it seemed to convulse around him with the shockwaves of pleasure going through him with the thrusting of the tentacle.

Lan Zhan let out a long, wavering moan. It was too much, the new sensation on top of all the others was overwhelming. An orgasm caught him by surprise, making his aching body tense up more but it felt _good._ He made an exhausted noise and went limp again while he evened his breath.

“More?” Wei Wuxian asked, glancing back up at him. Lan Zhan was usually capable of going multiple times but he was tired after their fight so he wanted to make sure before continuing.

“Give me a minute,” Lan Zhan breathed out. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

Wei Wuxian removed his finger and the tentacle from inside Lan Zhan but kept the ones that were holding him. He leaned over his body to press a soft kiss to his forehead. “Okay,” he said.

After a minute or two, Lan Zhan felt more relaxed. He opened his eyes and looked up at Wei Wuxian. “Why did you put your finger there instead of one of those things?” he had to ask. “Is it not... gross?”

Sure, he’d done it to Wei Wuxian and even put his _dick_ in there, but somehow it felt different. He felt self-conscious about it now that it was happening to him.

"Don't you remember that you put your fingers in me? You put your dick in me. It's not gross, I promise. Plus, I didn't use the the tentacles because there is no way I am giving them your first anal experience. If you will let me, I want _my_ fingers and _my_ dick to be the first ones inside you there," Wei Wuxian explained.

Lan Zhan looked apprehensive. It seemed like Wei Wuxian _really_ wanted it, which he didn’t understand but it made him feel less anxious about it.

“Okay,” he said eventually.

"Are you sure? You don't have to say yes just because _I_ want to," Wei Wuxian replied, leaning in to press another gentle kiss on his cheek.

Lan Zhan nodded. “It feels weird,” he said. “But not... bad.”

"It felt like that for me too, the first time you did it to me. But it got better," Wei Wuxian said. He glided his fingers through Lan Zhan's slick and found his asshole again, carefully pressing a finger inside.

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath and made a quiet noise, shifting around a little and tugging on the restraints. “Go slowly,” he said. “And... put the other one back.”

Wei Wuxian nodded. He let the tentacles return to Lan Zhan's body, one wrapping around his cock and the other rubbing up against his vaginal opening before easing inside. He took his time easing his finger in and out of him, letting him get used to the sensation.

Lan Zhan squirmed and squeezed around Wei Wuxian’s finger. It felt so weird. It was _wrong,_ but not exactly in a negative way. He stared up at Wei Wuxian with uncertainty, but the trust was there. He watched how the firelight and moonlight turned him orange and dark blue.

"You're doing good," Wei Wuxian cooed. He slowly eased another finger in as the tentacles began thrusting in and out of his pussy and rubbing his cock.

The second finger stretched Lan Zhan and he instinctively clenched down and grimaced. How had Wei Wuxian just... dealt with this? The other stimulation helped distract him from how weird it felt, though.

Wei Wuxian made sure to have the tentacles rub against all of Lan Zhan's sensitive spots in hopes of easing the process. He pushed his fingers in deeper, spreading them out a little, and curling his fingers in to try and find that spot that had felt so good on himself.

The curling was actually a bit uncomfortable, though maybe it was because Lan Zhan was having a hard time relaxing. “Yellow,” he said.

Wei Wuxian pulled his fingers out of him and looked up at him. "Is everything okay?"

Lan Zhan nodded. “I am fine,” he said. “Perhaps... use just one finger for tonight?”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian replied. He kissed his lips gently and then eased one finger back inside him as the tentacles kept touching and fucking him.

Lan Zhan looked up at the stars and slowly let his eyes close. He was still a little tense, but he tried to work on relaxing himself bit by bit. It felt nice, especially with that tentacle teasing his cock.

"Try to relax," Wei Wuxian said. He kept pressing his finger in and out at a leisurely pace, trying to get Lan Zhan to loosen up a little.

Over the next couple of minutes, Lan Zhan managed to completely relax, only tensing up a little bit when the tentacles hit a particularly good spot. He opened his hands and wrapped them around the tentacles that held his wrists, enjoying how squishy they felt.

“I like this,” he whispered.

"The tentacles?" Wei Wuxian asked. He wished he'd known that Lan Zhan was so fascinated with them earlier and he would have definitely done something with that.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan gave them another squeeze. “They feel nice. Squishy. And I like... being here. Alone with you.” He took a long, deep breath and shifted his lower half a little.

Wei Wuxian's face flushed with red. _Of course Lan Zhan likes being alone with you,_ he thought, but it was still embarrassing to hear. For once, he wanted Lan Zhan to be quiet so he moved one of the tentacles to come up and slip between his lips.

Lan Zhan’s eyes popped open wide and he looked between Wei Wuxian and the tentacle that was prodding at his mouth.

“Wha—ah,” Lan Zhan’s question was cut off when the tentacle took advantage of his open mouth to slide inside. It was tasteless and slimy, though the slime didn’t seem to stick around too much once it left the actual tentacle — at least, his mouth seemed pretty clear of it even after it moved around. He moved his head side to side and wrinkled his nose, but then he realized that it wasn’t _too_ unpleasant. It felt kind of nasty but it didn’t taste so, and taste was a big thing for him.

"You would really let this thing in your mouth but you won't suck on my cock? Lan Zhan, I'm disappointed," Wei Wuxian said with a huff.

“S’ not real,” Lan Zhan tried to say around the thing. Not wanting Wei Wuxian’s dick in his mouth was partly because of the (albeit slight) taste and sort of because of the uncleanliness, but mostly because of the concept of it. It was a special kind of degrading, one that he only wanted if it was going to be fake-‘forced’ onto him like that one time he did it. Having to give up his pride like that just didn’t seem appealing.

Just to be a little antagonistic, Lan Zhan looked Wei Wuxian in the eye and bit down on the tentacle, delighting in how it squished between his teeth like some kind of durable and stretchy... fruit? He never knew how to describe these things.

At that, Wei Wuxian winced reflexively. But no real harm could come to the tentacles of course. They weren't real. All they did was adapt but Wei Wuxian made a point of expanding the tentacle until it was the width of a cock and thrusting it further into Lan Zhan's mouth.

Lan Zhan’s mouth was forced open wider and he made an indignant noise. Maybe it was because all of his major orifaces were now being fucked, but he felt a little more intensely than he had been for the past few minutes. He squeezed the tentacles in his hands.

Wei Wuxian continued to watch with an intense gaze. He fucked his mouth with the same pace and rhythm as the tentacle inside his pussy. The tentacle on his cock teased and rubbed at his skin while he moved the finger in and out of his hole.

Lan Zhan arched his back and moaned, louder than usual since he couldn’t close his mouth. He could only lay there and be _used,_ and he loved it. He loved being held down so firmly — he didn’t think he would like being tied up with rope or something, and he realized this wasn’t completely different, but it _felt_ different for some reason. It only took him half a minute before he came like that, cum sliding over the tentacle that surrounded his length.

"Wow," Wei Wuxian breathed.

He let the tentacles remove themselves from Lan Zhan's orifices and slowly pulled his finger out as well. His own cock was achingly hard, straining against his pants, but he'd been so enraptured by Lan Zhan that he'd hardly thought about it.

Lan Zhan relaxed and panted for a moment while he recovered. He was so exhausted, but he wouldn’t mind to keep going. He kind of liked being fucked when he was too tired to move. “Did you enjoy that?” he asked, his voice a little rough.

"Oh, very much!" Wei Wuxian was quick to reply. He fumbled with his pants to pull out his cock with a sigh of relief. It felt good not to be constricted anymore. He stroked it idly, taking in Lan Zhan's bound and sweaty form.

Lan Zhan watched with interest as Wei Wuxian touched himself. He posed for him, arching his back and tugging on the tentacles in his hands and letting his legs fall wide open.

Wei Wuxian looked down at the way Lan Zhan exposed himself to him and licked his lips. He thumbed the tip of his cock before lining it up with his vaginal entrance, rubbing up against it through the slick before carefully easing himself inside.

Lan Zhan dragged his bottom lip through his teeth. It felt nice to have Wei Wuxian inside him after the cold tentacles had been. "If you ever want a quickie, you should use those things to stretch me out instead of making me cum once before you go in," he said. "They are squishy and it feels nice even if it is big."

"I like making you cum but... Good to know," Wei Wuxian replied, taking a deep breath before he sank all the way inside him. He leaned down to kiss his lips before taking a firm grip on his hips to leverage himself before he started to thrust.

Lan Zhan took hold of the tentacles around his wrists and squeezed them again. “How does it feel to... mm... earn a prize like this?” he asked, his voice soft and breathy.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and nosed at his neck. He picked up the speed of his thrusts until he was at a hard, steady rhythm. "Incredible. I am so lucky to have you, Lan Zhan."

Lan Zhan whimpered quietly. He was so sensitive down there now. “Touch me,” he said, tugging on the tentacles.

"Say please," Wei Wuxian teased and then nipped his neck. He chuckled a little, wondering how much it would take for Lan Zhan to give in.

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened. _Please?_ What, were they at dinner or something? “Wei Wuxian,” he said sternly, his breath picking up a little.

"Yes, darling?" Wei Wuxian replied with a cheeky smirk. He didn't let up on his pace as he spoke.

Lan Zhan writhed around, tugging on the tentacles that restrained him. He wasn’t going to beg, no matter what Wei Wuxian did or didn’t do.

"What's the matter? Can't say one little word?" Wei Wuxian continued to taunt him. He nipped and sucked at his neck, leaving little red marks in his wake.

“Why should I give you the satisfaction?” Lan Zhan grunted. He tugged hard on the restraints until his arms burned.

Wei Wuxian only laughed harder and slid his palms up and down from Lan Zhan's hips to his waist. "Because you love me?" he cooed.

_And yet you won’t touch me,_ Lan Zhan thought about saying. He moaned and complained and said, “You are terrible!”

"Aw Lan Zhan, you're so mean to me! What have I ever done to deserve you saying these things?" Wei Wuxian said with a pout.

Lan Zhan finally settled down, though he did keep glaring at Wei Wuxian. “I will not beg,” he said.

"It's not _begging_ , it's just using your manners," Wei Wuxian countered, meeting Lan Zhan's eyes as he spoke.

“It is begging,” Lan Zhan said. Wei Wuxian might say it was manners, but he would change his tune later he knew.

Wei Wuxian pouted at him once again. "You can't even pay your future husband some basic politeness?"

“I made you a pie,” Lan Zhan argued. He had no need to be polite.

"I'm about to give you a pie in a minute," Wei Wuxian said breathily, his thrusts beginning to stutter slightly.

Lan Zhan groaned and complained. That was so lame. “Do it then,” he said.

Wei Wuxian did his best to angle up against that spot that always had Lan Zhan seeing stars in the meantime. He let out a loud moan a few moments later as he came deep inside him, his knot expanding.

Lan Zhan grimaced and moaned as he was stretched wide. He liked not having to be quiet anymore; there was no one around to hear him now.


	32. Green Bliss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: drug use

“Let me go,” Lan Zhan said, tugging on the tentacles again. “But don’t make them go away.”

Reluctantly, Wei Wuxian obeyed. He let the tentacles detach themselves from Lan Zhan's limbs but they wiggled around. They came up to slide over Wei Wuxian's body instead. He let out a hum and pressed a kiss to one of the tips of the tentacles.

"Yes, hello my babies, did you have fun with Lan Zhan?" he cooed towards them. Of course, they couldn't answer, they were controlled by him, but it was fun regardless.

That pulled a quiet huff of a laugh from Lan Zhan. He reached out and grabbed one, pulling it closer so he could play with it. “Where did you get the idea to make these?” he asked.

"When I was a kid, there were story books which that pictures of big monsters with limbs like this," Wei Wuxian explained. The tentacle squirmed in Lan Zhan's hand. "Of course when I started learning conjuration, I was fascinated with the idea of making a big monster of some description. But in the end they just turned out to be helpful little guys."

Lan Zhan hummed. “They are freaky,” he said, squeezing the one in his hands. “I like them.” He pulled it to his mouth and squeezed it with his teeth curiously. It just felt so fun.

"Hey, don't bite him," Wei Wuxian replied with a huff. He had the tentacle pull out of Lan Zhan's hand and mouth.

Lan Zhan pouted. “It feels good,” he said. A thought occurred to him and he blinked a few times. “It doesn’t hurt, right?” he asked cautiously.

Wei Wuxian shook his head. "No. It doesn't hurt me but that doesn't mean you should bite him! ... I wonder if there is a way to connect my sensations to them... Then it'd be like fucking you twice over."

Lan Zhan hummed. “I think there is,” he said. “But it might use a combination of a different form of magic. Wang Laoshi knows how to conjure specters that he can experience certain senses through. He says that taste, smell and touch are the easiest and hearing and vision are the most difficult to relay back. I am sure you could figure out how to enhance the textile sense to include internal sensations.” He reached for the tentacle again.

"I'll definitely have to ask him about it and do my research... Gods, I'll probably cum twice as hard as normal," Wei Wuxian said with a sigh.

Lan Zhan squeezed the tentacle in his hands. He really wanted to bite it... it was like an almost irresistible urge. “Maybe if it is attached to your body it would be easier to feel,” he said. “And closer too.”

"If I learn to feel through it, there will definitely be no biting," Wei Wuxian replied, watching the way Lan Zhan seemed to eye up the tentacles.

Lan Zhan pouted slightly while still staring at the thing. Then he turned his gaze to Wei Wuxian and slowly pulled it to his mouth, testing the waters. Maybe sucking on it would be fun too, he thought.

Wei Wuxian watched him intensely. What was he going to do? Was he really going to bite into it after he told him off for it? It _would_ be in his nature.

"Watch the teeth," he said.

Lan Zhan looked back at the tentacle, holding the end of it in his hand with a couple inches sticking out. He stuck it in his mouth, delighting in how it squirmed. He closed his lips around it and sucked, and just as he expected it swelled a bit from the suction. What _was_ it with these things? They just felt so interesting. He had to admit to himself that he _might_ have a _slight_ obsession.

"Fuck, if I can get sensations through those things, it'll just be like you sucking my cock," Wei Wuxian said under his breath, feeling himself twitch inside Lan Zhan at the mere thought of it.

Lan Zhan felt the twitch and he eyed Wei Wuxian. He would be very impressed if he managed to do something like that. And it would be hot, too. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he asked around the tentacle before giving it another suck. He had another urge to bite but he resisted it.

"I jerked myself off multiple times thinking about what it was like fucking your mouth that one time. You looked so pretty like that," Wei Wuxian admitted.

Lan Zhan hummed. He pulled the tentacle out of his mouth and drew his tongue from where his hand was to the tip. “Have to keep it a rare occurrence,” he said. “Makes it better.”

"What would I have to do to get you to do it again? What if I drizzled something on my dick? Like strawberry or chocolate sauce," Wei Wuxian suggested. There had to be a way to make it more fun for Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan hummed again, thoughtfully this time. He put the tentacle back in his mouth and sucked on it absently. He liked doing it to the tentacle because of how squishy it was. But strawberry sauce sounded yummy... chop up some strawberries and mash them with sugar... “I might suck strawberry sauce off of it,” he said hesitantly.

Wei Wuxian's eyes brightened at that. Finally, something that worked. "You can have any reward you want if you do."

Lan Zhan liked that idea. He would have to put some thought into that. There weren’t many things he could think of that Wei Wuxian wouldn’t do at the drop of a hat if he asked anyway. He would have to think of something big.

“When we get back to Gusu,” he said.

"Okay," Wei Wuxian replied. He leaned down to kiss Lan Zhan again and then his knot slowly begun to shrink. Once it was drown, he pulled out with a soft sigh. His eyes roved over Lan Zhan's body and he shuffled down to press a soft kiss to the tip of his cock, then licked along its length.

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened and he sucked in a breath. He had softened a little over the past few minutes, but this brought it back to life. He put his hands on Wei Wuxian’s head and rubbed his cheeks with his thumbs.

Wei Wuxian briefly glanced up to smile at him before he took the head of his cock into his mouth and sucked. He enjoyed pleasuring Lan Zhan with his mouth and he was sure that he was a sane enough man to appreciate this more than him using his hand.

Lan Zhan let his head fall back and he closed his eyes. A soft moan left his lips. It would probably take a little longer than usual to cum like this, but he didn’t mind. It felt nice and relaxing.

For a few minutes, he sucked on his cock with languid strokes of his tongue. Wei Wuxian moved his hand up to pump the bottom of his cock while the rest was consumed by the wet heat of his mouth.

Lan Zhan kept his hands on Wei Wuxian’s head and rocked his hips in small movements, just focusing on the pleasure. It rose slowly, the warmth turning to burning heat after a while. He started to twitch when he got closer and tiny grunts and whimpers left him. It was a slow orgasm, one of the best kind. It washed over him from the inside out and left his already tired body feeling stretched out and loose.

Wei Wuxian pulled away when he came in his mouth and swallowed, a little dribbling down his chin which Wei Wuxian quickly swiped up with his tongue. "Good?" he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded and stretched out his arms and legs before going limp. He felt so nice. He looked at his pants and said, “Hand me those?”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian replied and reached over to grab Lan Zhan's pants. He handed them to him with a soft smile.

Lan Zhan put them on with a quiet groan. He really got a workout... when he was decent again he said, “Carry me back?”

"Are you going to be okay to sleep out here?" Wei Wuxian asked. He let his tentacles fully dissipate and then he tucked his cock back into his pants.

Not caring too much that he was ignored, Lan Zhan looked at the tent. So far he liked it out here, since it was a lot cooler than it was in the house. All of the breeze was nice. “Yes,” he said. “But we should try that other potion first.”

"Let's go to the tent first. You said the other potion was relaxing," Wei Wuxian said. He scooped up Lan Zhan in his arms and carried him over to the tent.

Lan Zhan purred when Wei Wuxian picked him up. He liked being carried; he knew Wei Wuxian wouldn’t drop him. He took hold of his jacket and sighed.

Wei Wuxian liked the sound of that purring. It was rare that he got to hear Lan Zhan purr like that and it rarely came out because of something he did. He almost didn't want it to end so he took his time walking to the tent. When he did arrive, he crawled inside and set Lan Zhan down, but not before pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Lan Zhan purred a little louder, but then cut it off so he could speak. “I left all of the bottles where we were sitting,” he said. “Bring two of the little ones over.”

Wei Wuxian nodded and ventured out to retrieve the two little bottles that Lan Zhan had left outside. He brought them back into the tent and then set up some blankets and pillows for them to cuddle up together. Or at least, that's what Wei Wuxian was hoping would happen. "Here," he said.

Lan Zhan took one of them and studied it. “I have never taken this before,” he said. He looked at Wei Wuxian, then went ahead and drank what was in the vial and put it outside the tent.

Wei Wuxian quickly did the same thing, downing the small vial and putting it outside. He wrapped himself in part of one of the blankets and hummed, waiting for the effects to sink in.

Lan Zhan pushed off his boots and lay back on his sleeping bag. He wouldn’t be using any blankets, nor would he actually get in the sleeping bag. It was made of leather and silk, and there was no doubt he would die from the heat if he tried that. Even in the tent it was pretty cool, though he did pull the flaps open on the front to let the breeze in.

The effects were subtle at first. He noticed that he was feeling sleepy, but not like he wanted to sleep yet. He closed his eyes and let out a low hum.

Wei Wuxian was subject to a similar feeling. He attempted to kick his boots off too but found himself struggling. It made him laugh a little until he finally got them off and flopped onto his back to curl up next to Lan Zhan. "Laaan Zhan," he whispered.

Lan Zhan turned a little and put his legs to the side so he could look down at Wei Wuxian. “Wei Wuxian,” he said. His hair was really fascinating for some reason, and Lan Zhan found himself staring at it.

"Mmm... has anyone told you how pretty your eyes are? They're like big pools of gold... or honey..." Wei Wuxian drawled, looking back at Lan Zhan with lidded eyes.

Lan Zhan blinked at him lovingly. “Do I taste like honey too?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and threw his arm over Lan Zhan's waist to snuggle up to him. "You always taste as sweet as honey."

Lan Zhan smiled softly. He was pensive for a minute. “What if I was made of honey,” he asked in a quiet mumble.

"Ppfffftt... how would I resist the urge to eat you... ah... I can't stick my dick in honey it's so sticky... haha stick my dick, it rhymes..." Wei Wuxian said between giggles. He buried his head against Lan Zhan's shoulder.

Lan Zhan stifled a snicker. “You are going to _stick your dick_ in strawberry glaze so I will _lick your dick.”_ The last rhyme wasn’t planned, but when the opportunity arose he took it. It was quite clever.

That only made Wei Wuxian giggle more. His shoulders shook with the laughter. "I sure hope so," he cooed.

"You could use honey too," Lan Zhan said. "It would take longer to get it off because it is sticky... I like honey."

Wei Wuxian leaned in to pepper kisses all over Lan Zhan's neck with a thoughtful hum. "Honey it is."

Apparently this potion made Lan Zhan particularly creative and thoughtful. He tilted his head to give Wei Wuxian room to kiss his neck while he was deep in thought. "I think I want goats," he said.

“For our farm?” Wei Wuxian asked between kisses. He could hardly wait for the day that he moved out with Lan Zhan and they found a place to have their own little farm.

"Mm. We could have goat milk," Lan Zhan continued. "I like them better than cows because they have fun personalities. There are a few goats at the Gusu farm. They jump all over the place."

"I'd like that," Wei Wuxian replied. He nipped at Lan Zhan's neck and pulled him closer by his waist. "You're a genius."

Lan Zhan put his hand between Wei Wuxian's mischievous teeth and his neck. "We can build them a playground," he said. "Made of stumps and ramps... the baby goats will fly off of them. They will eat my lace robe..."

"That's if I don't tear holes in them with how badly I want to fuck you first," Wei Wuxian replied.

"Lace is expensive," Lan Zhan argued. "It does not take long to pull it up. Be nice to it."

Wei Wuxian let out a soft whine and nosed Lan Zhan's hand away so he could go back to nibbling on his neck. "I can't be held accountable for what I do in my ruts."

Lan Zhan pushed his face away gently. "Is there a way I can make you go into rut early?" he asked.

"I don't know... Only way I've gone into rut without it being the right time is when you've been in heat," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan hummed in thought. “Maybe I can last one heat without you,” he said. “I should buy one of those toys we saw in the Capitol.”

"I don't want you to spend your heat on your own... Feel like a bad alpha," Wei Wuxian whined. He pouted at him.

“I’ve done it for more than five years,” Lan Zhan said. “I want to take care of you when you’re in rut. I can’t do that if I am delirious.”

Wei Wuxian took Lan Zhan's hand and kissed his knuckles. "Best way to take care of me in rut is to smell delicious and particularly fuckable. Being wet all the time makes it easy for me when I'm in rut. I _love_ when you're in heat."

He had a point. Lan Zhan would have to keep himself stretched open all the time... or he could fight him off, which would undoubtedly make him horny anyway. He sighed.

“You just like when I am tired enough to submit to you,” he said.

"That too. But no one said I don't like the hunt sometimes as well," Wei Wuxian replied with a lazy smile.

Lan Zhan remembered his last heat, how agitated he had been. He smiled softly and hummed. “Does that mean you liked it when I growled and was rude?”

"Aren't you _always_ rude?" Wei Wuxian teased, pinching Lan Zhan's side and laughing a little.

“Not like that,” Lan Zhan said. Yes, he was rude sometimes. But he didn’t make a habit out of snarling fiercely at Wei Wuxian every time he saw him.

Wei Wuxian let out another hum as he kissed Lan Zhan's knuckles again before moving down to kiss his wrist. "I do like it," he said. "I liked pinning you down, being rude back and growling at you."

Lan Zhan smiled again, a little wider this time. "I like that," he said. "I liked it when you told me that you were my alpha and that I would submit to you. You got so mad."

"You are mine," Wei Wuxian replied with a little laugh. He turned his hand around so he could kiss the inside of Lan Zhan's wrist.

Lan Zhan watched, still deep in thought. "It felt weird," he said after a moment. "Reminded me... of my grandfather. He used to say that kind of thing to my mother. I was very afraid of him. But... I was not afraid of you when you said it."

"You know I don't mean it like that. I don't own you, Lan Zhan. You are your own person and you can do whatever you want," Wei Wuxian replied. "It's just the sentiment that I love you."

Lan Zhan hummed and ran his finger down Wei Wuxian's nose, lips and chin. "It felt nice though," he said. "You were in rut. I knew I could talk back to you. Mother never could talk back." It might be weird or a sign that something was wrong with him for liking it, but he didn't care.

That made Wei Wuxian smile. "I like it when you're rude to me. It's very Lan Zhan of you," he cooed.

Lan Zhan smiled back at him. "Good to know," he said. He looked out of the tent and at the trees on the other side of the meadow. "If you were an animal, what would you be?" he asked.

"Hmmm... maybe like a fox or somethin'... sneaky..." Wei Wuxian said. "What about you?"

A fox did fit Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan thought about him sneaking into the Gusu farm and eating the chickens.

"I think I would be a sheepdog," he said seriously. "They work very hard and they get a lot of yummy treats. And they are very smart too."

"What are your yummy treats? Me?" Wei Wuxian asked with a laugh.

Lan Zhan nodded. "And oranges," he said. "And extra pastries and pies from the cooks."

"You should kiss your favourite yummy treat," Wei Wuxian cooed. He made a kissy face at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan smiled and bent down so he could kiss Wei Wuxian. He gave him a few gentle kisses, then stuck out his tongue and flicked his bottom lip. He took it between his teeth and then sucked on it.

Wei Wuxian was happy to kiss back and let Lan Zhan do as he pleased. He was surprisingly content to let Lan Zhan take and take.

They made out for a few minutes, Lan Zhan taking his sweet time with it. It felt really nice along with the buzz of pleasure he already felt from the potion. Eventually he pulled away and said, “Make those things again.”

"The tentacles?" Wei Wuxian asked. He cocked an eyebrow. "Why, what for? You're not going to bite them again, are you?"

"Why can't I bite them?" Lan Zhan asked. "You do not feel it. I think they like it."

"They're not candy for you to eat," Wei Wuxian huffed. "It's bad practice. I don't want you biting sensitive parts of me."

Lan Zhan pouted. "Can I suck on them then?" he asked. He didn't know why Wei Wuxian was so anal about the biting... it felt good! He should try biting them!

"You can suck on them," Wei Wuxian tried to reason with him. That _was_ good practice.

Lan Zhan lay back on his sleeping bag and made grabby hands. "Make me one," he said.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and summoned his magical energy so that one big tentacle rooted up from the ground and came to tickle Lan Zhan's side.

This one was bigger than Lan Zhan was used to, and his eyes widened. “Hello,” he said as he reached for it. He gave it a squeeze with his hands. “Can you make it different colors?”

"Don't you like black? Okay, how about blue?" Wei Wuxian suggested as he changed the colour of the tentacle from black to a rich blue.

Lan Zhan gasped in amazement. It was so pretty! He rolled onto his stomach and held himself up on his elbows, the tentacle securely in his hands. “Tentacle,” he said curiously. He slowly brought it closer to his mouth but didn’t open it just yet. He was enjoying just staring at it.

The tentacle wriggled in Lan Zhan's hands, free enough to boop Lan Zhan on the nose, making Wei Wuxian laugh with amusement.

Lan Zhan smiled and opened his mouth to stick it in. He resisted the urge to bite. If he just kept it away from his molars... he lay back down on his side and watched Wei Wuxian with soft eyes while he sucked.

It was making Wei Wuxian unreasonably horny watching him do that and it was evident in his scent. The tentacle was happy to be sucked, rooting around a little deeper into Lan Zhan's mouth.

Lan Zhan let it go further than he usually would. His throat tickled and threatened to gag, but he somehow managed not to. He closed his eyes and hummed between sucks, feeling a little like he was floating. He noticed Wei Wuxian’s scent change but he didn’t react to it — if he started to suck a little harder or move his hand up and down the tentacle and stroke it, that wasn’t his problem.

"You look beautiful, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian said idly as he watched. He licked his own lips, eyes locked on the way the tentacle slipped back his wet lips.

Lan Zhan preened, loving the attention even when he wasn’t looking at the intense way Wei Wuxian was watching him. He slowly pulled the tentacle out of his mouth and finally opened his eyes halfway, blinking lazily at him. He opened his mouth again and brought the tentacle back to it, though he didn’t close his lips around it yet, just licked it a few times.

"I see. You wanted it to be a tease," Wei Wuxian mumbled. He moved to adjust his pants where they were straining a little at the display. Why did Lan Zhan have to be such a tease all the time?

“No,” Lan Zhan said. “I really do like to suck on it. It feels good. I tease because your scent changed.” He rolled onto his back, though his legs stayed curled up to the side. He let his mouth go slack so it could rest, enjoying the feeling of the tentacle squirming around.

Wei Wuxian had the tentacle pull back until it was lingering on Lan Zhan's bottom lip. He had total control of the tentacle so he could play at that game too.

Lan Zhan blinked down at it for a moment, then he stuck his tongue out and licked it. “Hello,” he said to it.

It wriggled against his lip, curling back at the lick and then settling back on his lip after a moment. "Talking to it, huh?" Wei Wuxian said.

“It is a good boy,” Lan Zhan said. “I can say hello.” He squeezed it lightly with his hand and pulled it back into his mouth so he could resume sucking on it.

"You thought it was funny when I talked to them," Wei Wuxian mentioned casually, watching him.

Lan Zhan pulled the tentacle out with a pop. “Because it is cute,” he said. He yawned, then put the tentacle back in his mouth and closed his eyes. He felt sleepy and relaxed; everything just felt _good._

"You're cuter," Wei Wuxian replied. He laid down and summoned another tentacle that wrapped around his arm and up his hand so he could pet it.

That made Lan Zhan smile a little. There really was nothing that could make that moment better, except for scooting a little closer to Wei Wuxian, which he did.

He must have fallen asleep like that, because then he was waking up as the sky lightened before dawn. They messed around as the sun rose into the sky and finally headed back. They were disgusting, though at least they had a change of clothes to replace the dirt-covered ones from the night before. Though he usually hated being dirty, Lan Zhan was as happy as a lark.


	33. Return Home

The rest of the trip went smoothly as Lan Zhan got used to how everything worked. Every morning he got up and went to milk the cows and collect the eggs, then returned in time to help Jiang Yanli cook breakfast. Thankfully, there wasn’t much conflict with Madame Yu. Lan Zhan was careful about sneaking into Wei Wuxian’s room at night.

As fun as it was, though, Lan Zhan was more than ready to go home again. This was the longest he had ever been gone, and he was incredibly homesick. He baked everyone a pie to thank them for their hospitality, and even made Jiang Shisong a pie as well.

On the morning when they were supposed to leave, Lan Zhan woke up early like he always did. He had already given everyone their pies at dinner the night before, but he wanted to give Jiang Shisong’s his in the morning. He jumped out of bed and went to put it in the oven, then got a glass of water and watched the sky lighten through the window. After a few minutes, he went to Wei Wuxian’s room to wake him up. He climbed over him and buried his face in his neck.

Wei Wuxian responded positively to the new weight on his body. His eyes fluttered open almost immediately at the familiar scent of Lan Zhan wrapped around him. He put his hands on Lan Zhan’s waist and gave him a tired smile.

“Good morning to you too,” he said. “Have you packed all your things?”

"Mm." Lan Zhan let himself settle down for a moment. He breathed in Wei Wuxian's scent, then he sat back up. Because of their secret rounds the night before he smelled like sex and Wei Wuxian, which wasn't ideal, so he needed to go bathe.

"Get dressed," he said, "I will meet you in the kitchen. The pie is in the oven."

“Mmm… I’d much rather be putting a pie in your oven,” Wei Wuxian said lazily. He shot Lan Zhan a cheeky grin before sitting up and leaning in to press a quick kiss on Lan Zhan’s lips. “Go bathe.”

Lan Zhan sighed. "I still have the two from last night," he murmured as he stood up. He could feel it inside him as he walked back to his room for his bath.

Once he was ready, he brought his bags to the front of the house and then went to the kitchen to check on the pie. It was almost done, so he sat down in front of the oven so he could wait.

Wei Wuxian got out of bed shortly after Lan Zhan left. He washed up and got dressed, taking a bit of extra time to comb out his hair before tying it up with his usual red ribbon. He made sure his coat was at the top of his things so he could put it on when they got closer to Gusu and it started getting colder.

When he was done, he walked out to the kitchen and saw Lan Zhan sitting there. He leaned down to press a kiss to the side of his forehead with a smile. “Smells good,” he said, not making it clear whether he was talking about Lan Zhan or the pie.

Lan Zhan hummed and grabbed Wei Wuxian's wrist so he could pull him down to sit next to him. He rested his head on his shoulder and watched until the pie was ready, then he pulled it out of the oven and covered it with a cloth.

"Will you get the cream?" he asked. "It is in the small pitcher."

“Sure thing,” Wei Wuxian replied. He got up and retrieved the pitcher as Lan Zhan had requested. “It’s nice you’re doing this for him, you know. Ever since his old man passed, he hasn’t received many gifts. I try to get him something for his birthday, when I remember.”

Lan Zhan hummed. “He is a nice person,” he said. “He should be thanked.”

He secured the cloth around the pie and then they headed out. It was just past dawn now, so Jiang Shisong was probably already working. He could take a break though. Lan Zhan would help him a little afterwards to make up for it.

They made their way to the farm where Jiang Shisong had just finished collecting the eggs from the chickens, all put nicely in the woven basket. He blinked and smiled when he saw Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian coming his way.

“Young Master Lan and Young Master Wei, good morning,” he said with a polite bow.

Lan Zhan gave him a nod when he got there. “I made you a pie as thanks for your kindness,” he said. “It is still hot from the oven.”

“Oh! You didn’t have to do that! Thank you so much,” Jiang Shisong said. He looked a little teary-eyed as he took the pie from him. “It smells very good!”

“I used magic to make it taste better,” Lan Zhan said, feeling proud of himself. “The ingredients are fresh too.”

“Thank you so much! You are so kind to me Young Master,” Jiang Shisong said, sniffling a little. He smiled wider, as if his smile would touch his ears.

Lan Zhan nodded. “Do you wish to eat some of it now?” he asked. “I can help with the animals if need be.”

“If that’s okay! Ah, please, come in both of you,” Jiang Shisong said. He carried the pie in one hand and the eggs in the other as he hurried towards the little building where he slept.

Lan Zhan followed after Wei Wuxian. He watched as a couple chickens followed behind Jiang Shisong, and a few more were looking at him expectantly. He had been feeding them fruits for the past two weeks, so they knew he meant treats.

Jiang Shisong walked inside and took the pie to the small kitchen and set it down along with the basket of eggs. He took out a knife to cut a slice, then turned to look at Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan. "Feel free to take a seat," he said, pointing to the chairs around a small table.

Lan Zhan delicately sat down at the little table and looked around. It was a tiny place to live, but he knew he was used to a room which had a size that could easily be labeled 'extreme.' Most people did not live like he did.

"Have you milked the cows yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Jiang Shisong said. He came over to sit at the table as well with a slice of the pie. "Did you... want to help? I thought you two were going back to Gusu today."

Lan Zhan nodded. "I can help for a little while," he said. "It is only dawn." They had plenty of time. He was sure Jiang Wanyin would appreciate not being woken up this early, too.

"Yeah, we're not in a hurry! I know you like Lan Zhan's help," Wei Wuxian said with a grin. He leaned his elbow on the table, cheek on his palm. Jiang Shisong flushed at that and he distracted himself with taking a bite of the pie. His eyes immediately widened. "Wow!"

Lan Zhan contained his pride. He hadn't shared any of his fruit with Jiang Shisong, even when feeding the chickens -- it felt like too intimate of a gesture, one that should be reserved for Wei Wuxian.

"Put some cream on it if you would like," he said.

Jiang Shisong immediately got up from the chair to grab some cream he had put away and put some on the pie only to take another bite. He made the same amazed expression. "Young Master Lan, you're incredible! How did you make this taste so good?" he gasped.

"He's very talented, isn't he?" Wei Wuxian said fondly and Jiang Shisong answered with a quick nod.

"I used my magic," Lan Zhan said. "I hope one day I can enhance other foods rather than just fruits and vegetables. Like milk."

"That's amazing! I feel forever in your debt, for all your help on the farm and now this wonderful gift," Jiang Shisong said, bowing his head towards Lan Zhan.

"No debt," Lan Zhan said. It felt weird how Jiang Shisong thanked him for his kindness -- he had done it a lot over the past two weeks. He was just doing it because he liked taking care of animals, and he enjoyed Jiang Shisong's company... it wasn't like he was making any kind of sacrifice. "It is a gift of thanks for allowing me to help care for the animals. And..."

He glanced at Wei Wuxian and then looked out the window nonchalantly, covering up his discomfort. "It is nice to have another friend."

"I'm flattered you consider me a friend! I... would like to also consider you a friend," Jiang Shisong said with red cheeks.

Lan Zhan's ears flushed as well and he shifted awkwardly in his seat with a quiet "mm." This would count as his third friend, if he was counting Wei Wuxian. Making friends was weird; he didn't really have to with the first two.

"Aw, that's so cute you two," Wei Wuxian cooed. He was happy to see Lan Zhan making friends, he definitely needed more.

Lan Zhan scowled at him. It only made his blush more intense than it needed to be, damn him. "Not cute," he said quietly, looking out the window.

Wei Wuxian laughed at his embarrassment and leaned over to press a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Jiang Shisong smiled and respectfully looked away before continuing to eat the pie.

Lan Zhan rubbed his cheek and leaned away from Wei Wuxian. "Do not be rude," he admonished softly after the shameless display of affection.

"I'm not being rude," Wei Wuxian said with a huff. He grabbed Lan Zhan by the shoulder and leaned in to give him another big, fat kiss.

Lan Zhan gasped, scandalized. "Wei Wuxian," he said again, putting his hand on his face to keep him at a respectable distance, "that is rude. We are with company."

"He doesn't mind," Wei Wuxian replied. He pouted at him and then turned to look at Jiang Shisong. "Right?" Jiang Shisong made an approving hum but he didn't care look up at them.

"Be nice to your servant," Lan Zhan said. For good measure, since he knew Wei Wuxian would argue, he added, "he is my friend now so you have to be nice."

"I _am_ nice to him," Wei Wuxian said.

Jiang Shisong quietly finished the pie slice on his plate and then took it to the sink to wash it up. He turned back around to Lan Zhan. "Let's go to the cows then," he said.

Happy to leave his mischievous fiancé's teasing, Lan Zhan stood up and made his way out the door to go take care of the cows. They were watching eagerly, apparently ready to get their breakfast while they were milked. Lan Zhan went up to his favorite one and greeted her.

Jiang Shisong set out stools for them both and handed Lan Zhan a milk bucket. Wei Wuxian had followed them over and leaned against the wall, watching with fascination.

Over the past two weeks, Lan Zhan became proficient in catching frogs, cooking certain meals, and milking cows. He didn't work quite as fast as Jiang Shisong did, but it was considerably faster than how he'd started. He focused and worked steadily until all of the cows were milked and fed and let out into their pasture. He went up to Jiang Shisong and bowed politely.

"I do not know if I will return in the winter, but I would like for you to attend our wedding celebration if you are able next summer. I do not know where it will be held."

Maybe he could introduce him to Shi Taibai if it was in Gusu...

"I would be honoured!" Jiang Shisong replied, a smile crossing his face. He liked the sound of that.

"I would like for you to meet Shi Taibai if you come to Gusu," Lan Zhan admitted. He had already told Jiang Shisong about the bumbling farm boy in Gusu a couple of times, if only just small mentions of how he was nice and was inheriting the farm. He tried not to get too invested.

Awkwardly he continued, "You... can write letters. To myself and Wei Wuxian. If you wish."

Jiang Shisong hesitantly glanced over at Wei Wuxian, watching them still. "I would like that, if that is alright with you, Young Master Wei."

"Of course! Of course! We'd love you to," Wei Wuxian replied with a big grin.

Lan Zhan gave Jiang Shisong another polite bow. "Until we next speak," he said. He was kind of sad about leaving, but he reminded himself that he really was homesick.

Jiang Shisong bowed back. "I look forward to it, Young Master Lan. And you too, Young Master Wei."

"See ya!" Wei Wuxian called out as he took Lan Zhan by the hand and guided him away from the farm.

The trip back home was ten times worse than the trip to Yunmeng. Lan Zhan was ready to be home and he was tired of riding in the carriage after one hour of it. He had never meditated before, since his family stressed learning and studying over mindfulness, but he started on that trip.

He stopped at the homeless shelter before they continued to the campus and checked on Hua and Hudie. They let Jiang Wanyin go ahead in their carriage and their bags, saying they would walk up the mountain when they were done.

Lan Zhan was happy to stretch his legs as they made their way to the shelter. He didn’t even greet the person at the front, only saying, “May I speak with Hua?”

The volunteer blinked a few times and then smiled. “I’m happy to say she isn’t here anymore, Young Master Lan. She found a place to live with her employers.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened and he visibly brightened. This was fantastic news. He knew Hua had been searching for work ever since she got here. “Would you mind showing me?”

It wasn’t too far away. Lan Zhan took Wei Wuxian’s hand without thinking and started off towards the house they had been directed to.

“She found work, Lan Zhan! She found work!” Wei Wuxian chirped happily as he was willingly dragged along by Lan Zhan to the establishment that the homeless shelter employee had directed them to. “Oh, she’s going to be so happy to see you.”

It was a mansion, really, or as close as one could get while still in the city. He hoped that Hua wasn’t too busy. A servant opened the door when he knocked, and he said, “I am Lan Zhan, from the university. Is Hua busy at this moment?”

“I’m not,” came a familiar voice. Hua poked her head out of a room inside and smiled brightly at the two. “You’re back from your trip!”

Lan Zhan stepped back so Hua could join them outside. He refrained from asking where Hudie was; he should at least talk to Hua first. She was looking _much_ better than she had two months prior. Her cheeks were full and her frame had thickened a little away from the skeleton she had been.

“I am happy that you found work,” he said with a small smile.

“Yes!” Hua said, “I’m a cook now, and a maid in between meals!”

"Congratulations," Lan Zhan said. He fidgeted a little and looked into the building, wondering where Hudie was.

Hua noticed it and laughed. "I can see you squirming, you want my baby don't you? Hold on." She went back into the house and asked someone to bring Hudie outside.

Wei Wuxian was more excited to see Lan Zhan with Hudie than he was to see Hudie herself. He grinned to himself, rocking back and forth on his heels. “You’re so cute when you’re excited,” he cooed in his ear.

Lan Zhan shot him an annoyed look but he was too excited to retort.

He couldn’t stop himself from blooming when he saw the baby. She was about six months old now, and she had gotten bigger over the last month. She looked at Lan Zhan and pointed, letting out a squeal.

“Oh hush,” Hua said, though she was smiling. "You recognize him, yeah?"

Lan Zhan took Hudie from the servant that had brought her out and smiled wide at her. She was so giggly and happy and it was contagious.

“Hello Hudie,” he said.

“She’s been passed around the whole house by now,” Hua said, watching as Lan Zhan bounced and cooed at her. “Everyone loves her.”

Wei Wuxian bit his lip as he watched Lan Zhan with Hudie as well. It was so sweet, the way he held her, the way he talked to her. How was he supposed to cope with this kind of situation? It was far too much. “You’d think he was made to hold her,” he said softly.

Lan Zhan ignored it; he was used to Wei Wuxian staring at him by now. “Do you remember me?” he asked Hudie. She tugged on his hair and laughed, and Lan Zhan kissed her little forehead. He felt a strong urge to croon and he let it happen, his chest rumbling fiercely from it.

“Look at you, crooning at my baby,” Hua teased. “What are you going to do when she’s too old for that?”

“Never too old,” Lan Zhan said quietly, the words almost lost behind the croon.

Wei Wuxian felt a warmth surge in his chest as he kept watching them together. He could just imagine Lan Zhan holding a child of their own some day, cradling a little boy or girl. He would look so perfect.

“How is it caring for her?” Lan Zhan asked.

“We manage,” Hua said. “I have to give her to someone else most of the time, we pass her around to whoever’s the least busy. She doesn’t get a lot of playtime, though.”

Lan Zhan looked away and chewed on his lip, considering how he could ask this question.

Hua, as observant as ever, laughed. “I can see you thinking. You can take her anytime, you know, as long as you bring her back.”

Lan Zhan looked at Hua innocently. “Could I take her with me to the campus sometime?” he asked.

“Sure,” Hua said. “You’d be keeping her overnight then? She might get a little fussy, especially without a nighttime milk. She eats some solid food now, if I mash it up real hard. I can give you some to take with you next time you come by if you want to take her.”

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said.

“You’d be doing me a favor,” Hua laughed, “I love her, but it’s hard raising a baby and working. She needs more attention than I can give her. It would be nice to let someone focus on her every now and then. And I trust you. You’re better with babies than some of the other servants here.”

_Oh no._ Wei Wuxian could feel himself getting emotional. Lan Zhan with Hudie through the night, taking care of her, feeding her... He'd always liked the idea of children but he'd never felt so strongly about it until now. There was nothing more that he wanted than to marry Lan Zhan, start a family with him...

He approached Lan Zhan and Hudie and put his head carefully on Lan Zhan's shoulder to look down at Hudie with a smile, tears already clinging to his eyelashes.

Lan Zhan looked at him and smiled a little with amusement when he saw how emotional he was. It was cute.

Hudie reached for Wei Wuxian’s head and Lan Zhan hiked her up a little so she could grab his bangs. She didn’t seem to be tugging too hard, which was good.

“Practice,” he whispered, meeting Wei Wuxian’s eyes. A little smile tugged at his lips.

Wei Wuxian made a small noise in the back of his throat at that. He distracted himself by tilting his head towards Hudie so she could grab more of his hair. "It's not as silky as Lan-gege's hair, huh?" he said with a shaky laugh.

Hudie thought that was funny and laughed. Lan Zhan crooned again and hugged her, pressing his cheek against her unbelievably soft one. “Wei Wuxian is funny, isn’t he,” he rumbled.

“Best give her back before your mate bursts into tears, kiddo,” Hua teased.

Lan Zhan knew his time with her was up and he gave her a long kiss on the cheek. “I will be back,” he murmured to her before he handed her back to Hua. “Thank you,” he said. “When would be the best time for me to take her?”

Hua hummed in thought. “How about Saturday and Sunday? The weekends here are crazy, since the Madame has her parties then. We can make it a regular thing, if you can’t get enough of her.”

“I would like that,” Lan Zhan said. It was Saturday, so it would be a week from then. “I will return here next Saturday morning.”

“Sounds good,” Hua said, then her smile softened. “Thank you, both of you. I know I’ve said it a hundred times.”

Lan Zhan bowed and smiled sincerely. “I am happy for you, Hua.”

Hua just smiled. “By the way, I’ve taken on my Mistress’s surname. I’ll be Song Hua from now on. I sitll haven’t picked a real name for Hudie yet, so you can keep using her milk name. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you always do. You’ve done so much for her, you’re like her second mother.”

"We were more than happy to help," Wei Wuxian said. He wiped his tears away and straightened up. Then he slowly took Lan Zhan's hand in his.

"Speaking of parties, we're uh... we're engaged now. I know that's a big step from the last time you saw us. You'll receive an invitation to the wedding when it's arranged."

Song Hua raised her eyebrows. "I noticed you didn't flinch when I called you mates," she said. "I'd be thrilled to come, and Hudie too, if the Mistress allows it. Congratulations on figuring it out. I knew it'd happen, you know. From the moment I saw you two."

Lan Zhan blushed and looked away.

"Just don't forget about Hudie when you've got babies of your own," Song Hua continued, a twinkle in her eye.

"I won't," Lan Zhan said immediately. He was sure of that. He would do whatever he could to help Hudie through life and make sure she was okay.

" _We_ won't," Wei Wuxian replied. He squeezed Lan Zhan's hand. He was really going to have to do something about how the idea of a couple little kids running around in the spitting image of him and Lan Zhan made his knees weak.

"I need to get back to work," Song Hua said. "I'll have everything ready for you next weekend."

Lan Zhan nodded. They said their goodbyes and then turned to leave. Lan Zhan felt light as air. "It will be interesting to bring her back to campus," he said.

"You're excited. I never thought I'd see the day you would be so happy to keep a baby overnight," Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He smiled wide at him, feeling oddly pleased with how things had turned out.

"I suppose we'll see," Lan Zhan said. "I hope she sleeps through the night. I might need you to make some things to entertain her."

"Oh you'll see that I'm the worlds best babysitter and therefore the prime choice of mate to put some babies in you," Wei Wuxian said. He let out a little laugh.

Lan Zhan shoved him lightly from the teasing. "You would like that," he teased back.

He was quiet for the rest of the trip back to campus, feeling excited but also nervous about seeing his family again. They were bound to have a million questions for him. He would have to go see them as soon as he unpacked.

"Take your things to your room," he said. "I do not want my family to know you're staying with me. Not yet."

"Okay. I can slowly start moving my things to your room though, right?" Wei Wuxian said. He leaned down to give Lan Zhan a quick kiss. "We'll tell your family when you're ready."

“Mm. I am going to spend time with my family. Come see me tonight?” Lan Zhan’s eyes were hopeful; he was nervous about facing his family, but he needed to do that alone.

"Of course," Wei Wuxian cooed in response. He grinned at him, ever eager to join Lan Zhan in his room.

Lan Zhan nodded and went to where Jiang Wanyin had left his stuff so he could take it to his room. It was good to be back; his legs ached from walking all the way up the mountain and then four flights of stairs, but it was better than sitting in a carriage for days on end. He put all of his dirty clothes by the bathtub and put everything else away, then he freshened up and went back down so he could go to the main building.

It was the Saturday before classes began for the second semester, so only half of the students were there. Some had stayed over the break, and others were just arriving. The rest would arrive the next day. Lan Zhan walked past everyone and went to the back of the main building where the residential area was.

He didn’t get there before his brother spotted him. “Didi!” he cried, trotting over to pull Lan Zhan into a hug. “You were gone for so long!”

Lan Zhan reluctantly returned the hug. “Da-ge,” he greeted.

“How was Yunmeng? I’ve heard it’s hot down there…”

Lan Xichen walked with Lan Zhan down to the residential area and chatted with him, thankfully not mentioning Wei Wuxian yet. It was just after lunch, but Lan Zhan hadn’t eaten yet so he parted from Lan Xichen and went to the family kitchen to get the leftovers.

“A-Zhan!” his mom cried when she saw him.

He set his food down to give her a long hug. “Hello Mother.”

“I missed my baby so much! How was your trip?”

“It was fine,” Lan Zhan said as he took his food to the dining room. “I had fun. I am happy to be home.”

Lan Xia sat across from him. “What did you do there?”

“We spent a lot of time in the river,” Lan Zhan said. “I helped the farm hand milk the cows in the morning.”

“Oh it does sound like fun! I know you love animals. You know, I was telling your uncle that you might enjoy going to work on the farm close to here. They might have some stuff for you to do, since Shi Qianmu’s eldest daughters are being married off. You could learn some housewife skills since you wouldn’t let me teach you before. But now that you’re getting married you’ll need them.”

“Wei Wuxian’s sister taught me how to cook some meals,” Lan Zhan said. He felt defensive, but he kept it in. “I would enjoy working on the farm…”

“It would be good to spend a little time away from your mate too,” Lan Xia continued. “Once you’re married, there won’t be any of that anymore.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He had spent the past month in Wei Wuxian’s constant company, but he didn’t mind it. It was strange really, since he valued his alone time so much.

“Your father came up here,” Lan Xia said, and Lan Zhan paused in his eating. That was rare. “We talked about the wedding. We said it would be best to have it next summer over the break. We have not yet talked with the Jiangs but we’ll decide where it would be held when we do. It’s very nice of your father to pay for it.”

“Mm.”

“Your uncle isn’t very happy,” Lan Xia said, her voice lowered. “He wants you to wait until Wei Wuxian has properly courted you. I told him there’s plenty of time between now and next summer. If I were you, I’d be extra careful not to get on his nerves, okay?”

“Mm.” He shifted a bit and said, “Song Hua has moved from the homeless shelter and gotten a job. I told her I would take care of Hudie on the weekends. I will bring her to my room.”

Lan Xia brightened up. “Wow, that will be something. Good practice, I suppose. I can give you the baby things we still have from you and your brother. He can help get the crib up the stairs.”

After Lan Zhan was finished with lunch, he helped his mother prepare things for her classes to start. He was kept busy until dinner, which went smoothly. After that he stopped by the greenhouse to make sure the plants were all doing okay, then went to the omega girls’ dorms.

“Lan Zhan!” at least five girls cheered when they saw him.

“Is Su Ming here yet?” he asked.

“I think I saw her a little earlier, she might be upstairs.”

Lan Zhan nodded and went up to the second floor. There weren’t as many omegas as there were alphas at the school, so only the first two floors were taken up. He found Su Ming in her room unpacking. She gasped when she saw him.

“Lan Zhan! Come in, I’ve got a game we can play.”

Lan Zhan went to the rug next to the bed and sat down while Su Ming dug around for her game. It was a dice game where the players tried to get the highest roll. It was a good way to pass the time.

“I have news,” Lan Zhan said vaguely.

“Yeah?” Su Ming said while she set the game up.

“Wei Wuxian and I are engaged.”

Su Ming dropped the cup and the dice flew. She let out a shrill scream. “No way!” she yelled.

“You’re engaged?” another girl asked, popping her head into the open door.

“Did I hear Wei Wuxian?”

Lan Zhan sighed. Of course this would be everyone’s business. He waited while at least ten girls crowded into Su Ming’s room.

“When did you get engaged?” one asked.

“A month ago.” Su Ming said, “You were still fighting with him then though, weren’t you?”

“Not fighting.”

“Well it was weird between you two.”

Lan Zhan looked around the room cautiously. “This doesn’t leave the building,” he said.

All of the girls nodded fiercely. Lan Zhan knew there was no chance of the news staying in the room, since omegas constantly gossiped with one another. But keeping things from the alphas and the professors was an easier bet. Omegas took care of each other at this school.

“We did not fight,” Lan Zhan began. “But we wanted different things. He wanted a romantic relationship and I did not. It became… tense.”

“Were you still having sex with him?” Su Ming whispered.

Lan Zhan shook his head.

“Wait, you guys had sex?” a girl asked.

“That’s old news, Shen Lang.”

“I didn’t know either!”

“Is he good?”

Lan Zhan nodded and everyone giggled. He kind of liked the attention, if he was honest. Wei Wuxian was hot shit and all of the girls wanted him.

“He does this thing…” He watched with amusement as all the girls leaned in, eyes wide. “He uses his conjuration magic… to make tentacles.”

The room was quiet for a moment. Eventually Su Ming asked, “You mean like… monster tentacles? Snake things?”

Lan Zhan nodded.

“What does he do with them?” Lan Zhan looked away and blushed, and the girls squealed and giggled some more.

Su Ming shushed everyone. “Wait a minute! I still want to know when this engagement happened. You were so pissy about him.”

Lan Zhan picked at his robes and sighed. “It was awkward,” he said. “I felt bad about… doing things with him. But he still acted like my friend. Then on the morning of move-out day he left me a letter that said he was leaving and not coming back, because I did not return his feelings.”

“Did you chase him down?” Su Ming asked, her eyes wide.

Lan Zhan nodded. “He and Jiang Wanyin were partway down the mountain. I ran there and…” He bit his lip. “I called out to him.”

“Oh this is so romantic,” one girl swooned.

“He asked me to marry him and I said yes,” Lan Zhan finished.

Su Ming looked shocked. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “You really said yes? Are you sure about it?”

Lan Zhan nodded. “I am very sure.”

Su Ming sat back. “Wow, that’s why you weren’t there on move-out day. I was looking everywhere for you. What did you do after that?”

“I went to Yunmeng with him over the break. We just got back.”

“Oh you went to Yunmeng? Wow… what was it like?”

Lan Zhan spent a little while talking about his trip, and the girls did their best to squeeze more details about his and Wei Wuxian’s sex life. They ended up playing a different game after that, one that Lan Zhan enjoyed a lot. He had forgotten how much fun it was to spend time with Su Ming and her friends.


	34. Cozy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TW: Discussion/negotiation of a future rape roleplay** at the end of the chapter.

When the eight-thirty bell rang, Lan Zhan went back to his room and started to sort out his plants. Lan Xichen and Lan Xia had watered them for him, so they weren’t completely dead, though the lack of direct sunlight had made them suffer. It would take a while to get them back to how they had been but he enjoyed working with them. It was peaceful.

Wei Wuxian had made his way to his own room too after splitting ways with Lan Zhan and unpacked his things. He hummed as he did, purposefully leaving a few things in bags for easier movement when he properly moved in with his mate.

Truthfully, he could hardly wait. After spending a month with Lan Zhan, he had decided that he couldn’t get enough of him.

After he had unpacked, he went to Jiang Wanyin’s room to speak to him briefly. He’d since cooled down now they were back in Gusu, it seemed.

“I still can’t believe you’re getting married,” he grumbled.

Wei Wuxian gave him a soft smile. “It won’t be until next summer at least. But if you’re _that_ jealous, I could ask Lan Zhan to set you up with one of his omega girl friends.” He grinned at him and gave him a playful nudge with his elbow.

Jiang Wanyin scoffed at him and shoved him, his cheeks a little red. “You’re so stupid, I hate you,” he said. “Don’t you dare.”

Wei Wuxian tapped the side of his nose. At least things seemed to be back to normal between them.

He made his rounds speaking to a few of the other alpha boys on his floor, the nicer ones who’d he gotten quite chummy with, just to talk about how their break had been. He wasn’t particularly close with any of them but they were nice to talk to.

By the eight-thirty bell, Wei Wuxian picked up a spare change of clothes and headed out to the omega dorms. He climbed up to Lan Zhan’s window with his tentacles as per usual, a wave of nostalgia washing over him as he did, and then climbed inside.

“Lan Zhan,” he said in a sing-song voice.

Lan Zhan looked up from his plants and stood up. He padded over to the window where he had come in and kissed him. When he took his boots off, Lan Zhan brought them to the box he had put by the window to act as a subtle shoe rack. He had also put a rug down in front of the window to keep the floor mat clean; he would have to remind himself to hide it when Lan Xichen came to his room.

“How was your day?” he asked.

He realized he liked asking that — when he spent every moment with Wei Wuxian there was no need to do so. But spending the day apart and asking how it went when they were together in the evening felt... domestic. (How embarrassing.)

“Better now I’m with you,” Wei Wuxian cooed. He smiled and leaned in for another kiss, there was no way he could help himself. “I didn’t do much, just unpacked most of my stuff, spoke to some of the other alphas… Took a quick nap so I’d have lots of energy for tonight.”

Lan Zhan wrapped his arms loosely around Wei Wuxian’s waist. His last words made him hide an amused smile against his shoulder. “I’ve been busy,” he said.

"Oh yeah? Tell me about your day then sweetheart," Wei Wuxian replied, wrapping his arms around Lan Zhan back and taking a deep inhale of his scent.

Lan Zhan pulled away and walked back over to his plants to keep working on them. “Mother said that Father came here to discuss the wedding. She said Uncle is not happy about it. I told her that I would be caring for Hudie on the weekends. I helped her prepare for the semester and after dinner I went to see Su Ming. I told her about us and some other omegas came to listen. Then we played a game.”

“You told them about us huh? What did you say?” Wei Wuxian said. He casually made his way over to the bed to watch Lan Zhan as he worked.

Lan Zhan was quiet for a short moment, his ears reddening a little. It felt weird to talk about his sort-of friendship with other omegas. He hadn’t talked about it with Wei Wuxian a lot before. “I told them about why we are engaged. How you wrote a letter and I called out to you. They... enjoyed it. They said it was romantic. And they asked a lot of questions.”

Wei Wuxian leaned back on his hands. “Well, they have a point. It was _very_ romantic how you ran out to me before I could leave. I loved it. All that was missing was some heavy rain and it would have been right out of one of those cheesy romance novels.”

Lan Zhan gave him a subtle eye roll. “I suppose,” he said. He touched his flower petals and revitalized them one by one. “I told them about your tentacles.”

“My tentacles, huh? What, in a sexy way or just like a… normal fun fact kind of way?” Wei Wuxian asked. He didn’t know how he felt about Lan Zhan potentially talking to a bunch of omega girls about their sex life.

“They asked if you were good in bed,” Lan Zhan said. “They were all very curious.” He shot him a look. “You’re popular.”

“Setting the standard for a good alpha, huh? But uh… what did you tell them, exactly? You said yes, right? I’m the most amazing lay in the world?” Wei Wuxian said with a laugh.

Lan Zhan paused his work and thought about it. "I told them that you were good," he said. "I said you make those tentacles and they asked what you do with them and I did not answer but they laughed. They asked if you were sweet and I said yes. They asked how big you were and I said that it does not fit that well unless I am very relaxed and then they wanted to know how many times I cum. I did not answer directly but they counted up to four and I stopped them there." He remembered how wild they had gone at that point.

Wei Wuxian suddenly clambered to the edge of the bed and laid on his front, as close to Lan Zhan as he could get while still being on the bed. He had the biggest grin on his face. “Awww, Lan Zhan! You think I’m sweet?” he cooed.

Lan Zhan sighed and went back to working on his plant, facing away from him. "Why would I not?" he asked after a moment.

“I don’t know, it just seems unlike you to say something like that. You saying I’ve got a nice, big dick and I make you cum a lot is pretty standard but… _sweet?_ Oh it’s so cute to hear it from you,” Wei Wuxian continued. “Please, say more nice things.”

Lan Zhan shifted a little. "They asked if you called me 'baby' and I said yes," he said. "That is what they meant by 'sweet.' They asked if you give me massages and I said I have not asked."

"Would you want a massage? I can give you massages," Wei Wuxian replied. He certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to put his hands all over Lan Zhan's body, especially naked and coated in oil.

Lan Zhan hummed thoughtfully. He didn't like it when his mother tried to give him massages, but he didn't like being touched in general. Wei Wuxian was an exception. "Do you know how to give massages?" he asked.

"Well, not professionally. I've never been properly taught but how hard could it be?" came Wei Wuxian's response. He shrugged his shoulders.

Lan Zhan pursed his lips. "Let me teach you before you do it to me," he said. He didn't want Wei Wuxian just doing whatever he felt was right; he was too sensitive for that.

Wei Wuxian's grin got wider. Lan Zhan's hands all over his body? That sounded equally good. "Are you going to give me a massage then? Ooh I like the sound of that. I promise I'm a quick learner!"

Lan Zhan looked at him. He supposed he could do it right then. There was no rush with fixing his plants. He stood up and went to his bath area to get his oil. He had some for his hair and some for his skin; the one he used for his skin wasn't used often, only in the dead of winter when his skin dried out. But he had plenty of it, and it would be nice to use for a massage. "Undress and lay face down," he said.

"You want full naked?" Wei Wuxian asked. He shucked off his jacket and then carefully began peeling the rest of his clothes from his body. To respect Lan Zhan, he folded them all neatly into a pile.

“If you would like,” Lan Zhan said. He put the barrier back up on his windows to let the room heat up a little and he took off his outer robe. He cast a warming spell on the jar of oil until the glass was too hot for him to hold. He set it on the bedside table.

“Thank you for folding them,” he said quietly. He always appreciated keeping things neat and clean.

Wei Wuxian felt a note of pride. He supposed it was the alpha in him that made him eager to please Lan Zhan. Even so, he wiggled his underwear down his hips and put that on the top of the pile neatly before he rolled to lay on his front.

Lan Zhan climbed onto the bed and settled on top of Wei Wuxian’s thighs before pushing his hair safely out of the way. He tested the temperature of the oil and then poured a bit onto the small of his back. He took a moment to tie his own hair back into a low ponytail to keep it out of the way before he started to gently work the hot oil into Wei Wuxian’s back, going from the bottom up to his shoulders.

“I will do it the way I want you to do me,” he said quietly. “So pay attention.”

Wei Wuxian let out a small hum of acknowledgment and leaned his cheek against his arms. This was so intimate already. "You have my full attention," he mumbled.

Lan Zhan started with slow movements that didn’t have a lot of pressure behind them, just running his hands up and down his back. He drew little circles on his sides with his fingers. Then he gradually started to press down harder with his palms, pushing slightly against the strong muscles as he ran his hands up Wei Wuxian’s back a few times. He focused on his shoulders next, rubbing little circles with the heels of his hands. He slowly made his way closer to his neck and then started to gently knead his trapeziums.

“These can hurt,” he said softly. “Don’t start with them. Work up to it. Be gentle and gradually use more pressure.”

Wei Wuxian let out a pleased groan as Lan Zhan worked his magic. When was the last time he got a massage? It felt insanely good. There was tension in places he didn’t know. “You’re amazing at this,” he muttered. “Who taught you?”

“My father paid for me to have a professional massage once,” Lan Zhan said. “I just paid attention.” He worked up Wei Wuxian’s neck, using his fingers to rub circles up the back until he got to the base of his head where he focused on that spot for a moment. Then he worked his fingers to behind his ears and down his jaw.

At that, Wei Wuxian let his eyes close and he just laid there and enjoyed the sensations. He made sure to pay attention to everything he was doing even though he was thoroughly enjoying himself and relaxing against the bed.

Lan Zhan hummed a little tune while he continued. He worked down Wei Wuxian’s arms to his fingers which he gave individual attention, then scooted down and off the bed so he could do Wei Wuxian’s thighs, calves and feet. The curfew bell rang, signaling that it had reached nine at night. Lan Zhan’s sleeping schedule had shifted a little over the month, so he wasn’t very sleepy yet.

“Your hands feel really nice,” Wei Wuxian said with a soft sigh. He couldn’t say this was what he expected to happen when he came to Lan Zhan’s room but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.

Lan Zhan moved back up and started to knead Wei Wuxian’s shoulders and neck, figuring he could do that until either his hands started to cramp or Wei Wuxian told him to stop. Or fell asleep.

“At this rate, I’m going to fall asleep before I can return the favour,” Wei Wuxian’s voice began to slur. He’d taken a quick nap earlier in hopes of being awake for Lan Zhan but he was beginning to wonder if it had been at all worth it.

“Do you want me to stop?” Lan Zhan asked, his voice soft. He was enjoying himself, sitting on Wei Wuxian’s plump ass and admiring his muscles. He wouldn’t mind doing this for a while if Wei Wuxian wanted him to.

“Only if you want to. That wasn’t a complaint, I’m having fun,” Wei Wuxian said. His eyes fluttered back open and he turned to look at Lan Zhan over his shoulder.

Lan Zhan hummed and kept going. He moved back down his arms again one at a time. The muscles here were so _hard,_ even when he could tell they were relaxed. “What is Jiang Wanyin’s favorite dish?” he asked.

“Hmm… He’s got a penchant for spicy food like me. But not as much as me… he’s weak compared to me,” Wei Wuxian said. He laughed softly. “But I think if you asked him, he’d say jiejie’s lotus rib soup, like me.”

“Mm.” Lan Zhan thought about that for a moment. Jiang Yanli had taught him how to make the soup, and eventually he had made it by himself with only her watchful eye. He could probably make some again. “I might make it and give him some,” he said. “You could help me grow the lotus in the big pot on the first floor.”

Wei Wuxian made a scandalised noise. “Are you _flirting_ with my brother, Lan Zhan? Making him his favourite dish? He’ll surely be flustered getting such a thing from a beautiful omega like you.”

Lan Zhan huffed, his hands pushing a little harder. “I don’t _flirt,”_ he said. “Not with food. It’s... a peace offering.”

“Really? Because you and I share food a lot. I always thought you were flirting with me when you were feeding me things,” Wei Wuxian said.

“I made your family food for two weeks,” Lan Zhan argued. “And Jiang Shisong.” It was a good point, though. “Making food is a gesture of friendship. Sharing my own food is a gesture of intimacy. I share food with you and Su Ming sometimes. I did not give Jiang Shisong any of my fruit, though.”

“Should I be concerned that you want to fuck my whole family then?” Wei Wuxian said playfully. He let out another snort of laughter. “I know you’ve only got eyes for me, I’m just teasing you.”

Lan Zhan scowled at him. “You’re terrible,” he complained. He kept massaging him even so. “I will make it for you both after my heat.”

“Hmm that sounds good. Be careful though, Jiang Wanyin likes it just the way jiejie makes it. Don’t try to pull any tricks,” Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan hummed. “Okay,” he said. “I will only pull tricks on yours.” He hadn’t yet tried to enhance the taste of the soup yet, but he planned on experimenting with it at some point.

“You’ve got big expectations to live up to,” Wei Wuxian said. He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath as he relaxed.

“I made the last one you ate,” Lan Zhan said. He hadn’t actually told the family he was the one who did it, though Jiang Yanli might have mentioned it. Granted, Jiang Yanli was watching him the whole time and making sure he did everything right.

“I know and it was _amazing_ , but this time you’ve got to do it all on your own. But given that you’ve only had one professional massage and you’re this good, I think you’ll be just fine,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan hummed. “I will do my best,” he said. Jiang Yanli said the key ingredient was love, which he had ‘plenty’ of, according to her. His hands were starting to tingle a little so he stopped wrung them together.

Wei Wuxian felt like he had completely melted into the sheets by the time Lan Zhan was done. After a few more deep breaths, he opened his eyes and looked at Lan Zhan. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

Lan Zhan rubbed the oil over the backs of his hands. They were going to be very soft. "You can ask me any time," he said.

He got up and went behind the privacy screen to wash his face and brush his hair. He eyed the red 'robe' Wei Wuxian had bought for him months prior. He had laid it out when he got back to his room after wondering which one he should pick. He decided on the red one because it had been a long time since he'd worn it.

He felt odd as he put it on; the last time he had worn any lingerie, the dynamic between them was different. Especially the red one. Really, the last time they'd had sex in his room was different too. After putting on the black stockings, he pulled his hair over one shoulder and brushed it out one last time. Red and black were not his colors, but they did make him look... alluring. In a 'devilishly sexy' kind of way. He left the bath area and returned to the bed.

Wei Wuxian had rolled onto his back and sat up in the meantime, still fully nude and glistening with oil. His eyes widened when he saw Lan Zhan in the lingerie. "Oh," he breathed. "Are you tempting me, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Zhan gave him a subtle smirk, one that mostly stayed in his eyes. He went over to where he kept his plants and put his hand on his chin, pondering. He had a few different red flowers, and a couple of black ones. After a moment he bent down and picked a couple of red flowers and one big black one, and brought it to his desk. He had a hair pin there, one that had little rings where he could tie the flowers on. It even had some red beads hanging down from the sides.

Wei Wuxian couldn't take his eyes off Lan Zhan the whole time, he watched him saunter around and bend down with rapt attention. He knew just how much of a tease he was, didn't he? "I like the view," he said.

Lan Zhan certainly knew what he was doing. He cocked his hip and glanced over his shoulder at Wei Wuxian’s naked form before turning back to his work. He had specifically revived his flowers before any of his other plants so he could use them for a hair ornament. He had only tried this once before, so he hoped it worked.

He tied the black one onto the middle and then tied the little red ones around it. He would work on doing these more often, using different flowers and colors and making miniature bouquets to put in his hair. He could revitalize them as they wilted, if they didn’t get damaged first.

He went back across the room to his vanity and pulled his hair back into a simple half up-do with a red ribbon. Then he tied his new hair ornament on. The beads clicked pleasingly against his head and the flowers were fresh and smelled good.

He dug through one of his drawers and found the makeup Su Ming had given him a while back (she loved doing his makeup for some reason) and pulled out the rouge. Dabbing his finger into the powder, he put a tiny bit on his lips and then some to make his eyelids pink. It was barely any change, but just enough to give him an edge.

Wei Wuxian got up from where he was sat on the bed and shamelessly walked over to Lan Zhan. He put his hands on his hips and rested his chin on his shoulder, meeting his gaze through the vanity mirror. Never had he thought that he’d be into make-up but Lan Zhan sure did make it look amazing.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, squeezing his hips and laying kisses on the side of his neck.

Lan Zhan tilted his head back and a little bit to the side — not exactly a submissive gesture but the opposite, demanding more. He kept his gaze steady. “I’ve been thinking about what we were planning,” he said lowly. “About what my reward would be.”

"Oh?" Wei Wuxian said. He smirked against his skin and planted a steady flow of more kisses. "And what would that be?"

Lan Zhan rubbed his lips together, spreading the rouge over them. “How about a pretend game?” he asked cryptically.

"Sure. I'm willing to try. What did you have in mind?" Wei Wuxian asked with a playful lilt.

Lan Zhan hummed. "I liked what you did to me when you were in rut," he said. "You took what you wanted."

He put his hands on Wei Wuxian's and his gaze and voice softened as he said more sincerely, "I've spent so much of my life fearing being violated and dominated. In a twisted way, the illusion of being stripped of control was nice when I knew that I actually had complete control."

That was what he thought it was, anyway. There was no other reason he could think of why he enjoyed such fantasies. It wasn't like he actually wanted them to come true. He knew they never would and that was what made it feel safe. It was testing the boundaries of his trust in Wei Wuxian, similar to letting him strip him bare in his dorm.

“And that is what you want? You want me to pin you down, have my way with you?” Wei Wuxian asked in a husky voice. “Are you going to struggle? Cry and tell me to stop?”

The tone of voice sent a shiver down Lan Zhan's spine and he barely repressed it. "Perhaps I will not cry," he said. "Maybe I'll be angry. And tell you to go to hell."

Wei Wuxian drew little circles on Lan Zhan’s hip with his fingers. He took another deep inhale of Lan Zhan’s scent from the base of his neck. “And who am I in this little fantasy of yours?”

Lan Zhan hummed thoughtfully, as if he didn't already have an idea. "Maybe you are a student who I have flirted with too many times but played hard to get," he said. "Maybe I liked to tease you in the library and watch you squirm, then leave when you tried to make a move."

“So, I’m sick of you not giving me what you seem to be so desperately begging me for… I need to take out my anger, my frustration… I break into the dorms to find you, dressed up all pretty like a gift,” Wei Wuxian continued in his low voice. “And I _devour_ you.”

Lan Zhan resisted the urge to smirk. "Perhaps I am expecting you," he said. "But I don't want to let you have your way so easily. I haven't finished teasing you to my liking yet."

“You want me to use my tentacles to restrain you?” Wei Wuxian asked. He knew how much Lan Zhan had enjoyed it in the forest but he wanted to make sure he wasn’t pushing boundaries.

Lan Zhan considered that. He did love those tentacles to death... but maybe this wasn't the scenario to use them in. He felt that they would do better in a playful, teasing situation, not a forceful one.

"Save the tentacles for Wei Wuxian's antics," he said. "The wicked student can make silk bindings. A blindfold perhaps." He turned his head to nose at Wei Wuxian's jaw. "Nothing goes in my mouth. Except a silk sash between my teeth and around my head, should my foul mouth disturb you." His eyes drifted away after that. "If so, we will need to have a hand signal."

“Hmm, alright. What’s your hand signal? Just in case,” Wei Wuxian replied. He hadn’t pegged Lan Zhan for the sort to have this kind of fantasy but he wasn’t complaining.

Lan Zhan pondered over it for a moment. He made a couple gestures with his hand, trying to find one that he wouldn't make accidentally. Eventually he settled on making a fist and holding his index finger up. "Here," he said. "I will change my tone of voice as well if you are not looking."

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian said, observing the motion. He leaned back down to kiss up the side of his neck until he reached his jaw. “Is this what you want to do tonight?”

Lan Zhan shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "I need to earn it first. And my heat is in a few weeks. I might not be emotionally stable enough to handle it before then." He was surprised at how easy it was to admit a weakness like that to Wei Wuxian.

“I’ll have to go get that honey soon then, huh?” Wei Wuxian said with an amused hum. Truthfully, he could hardly wait for that day to come.

Lan Zhan hummed. "They have fresh honey at the Gusu farm," he said. "And they make dessert sauces too. We can go see the rabbits again if you'd like."

“I’d like to see the rabbits again… Ah, best we don’t tell them that we want to use their honey to lather my dick in so you’ll suck it, huh?” Wei Wuxian said. He let out a snort of laughter.

Lan Zhan couldn't hide his smile. "You're terrible," he said. "I'm not as shameless as you." Without letting him defend himself after that, he turned around in his arms to face him.

"I do have a game you might like," he said.


	35. Cockwarming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: talk about sex slave kink

“I do have a game you might like.”

Wei Wuxian eagerly drank in the sight of him again now that he was facing him. Gods, that make-up looked good on him. “And what might that be?” he asked.

Lan Zhan slid his hands over Wei Wuxian's warm hips and around to his back, still baby smooth from the oil. "You've made me cum so many times," he said. "But I want to see how long I can last if you just tease me."

"You're such a little minx, you know that?" Wei Wuxian replied with a smirk. He moved his hands from Lan Zhan's hips to grab a handful of his ass and squeeze.

A small smirk broke through Lan Zhan's features. "You know that scene in the book where the omega sits on the alpha's cock for three hours?"

"You want to sit on my cock?" Wei Wuxian answered. He remembered the scene in the book fondly. That book was full of interesting things that they could try one day.

Lan Zhan nodded. "I have plenty of things to catch up on in my readings and research," he said. "It might be fun to see if I can accomplish anything with a distraction."

"I'll agree if I get to touch you however I please throughout," Wei Wuxian said with a hum. "Could we maybe sit in front of a mirror too?"

Lan Zhan bit his lip. He wasn’t sure he wanted to give Wei Wuxian free rein with how mischievous he was. If he wanted to go as long as he could without cumming he would need him to behave. But... he might be able to last anyway.

He nodded and pointed at the standing mirror a little ways away. “Bring that to the low table,” he said. He turned and went over to his desk so he could bring his work over there as well.

Wei Wuxian nodded and went over to grab the standing mirror. He placed it before the low table so that they could see their reflection in it. If Lan Zhan was going to have his back to him, he wanted to be able to see him lose control through the mirror.

Lan Zhan organized his notes, then he went to get a collection of small potted plants. When he was ready, he stood and waited for Wei Wuxian to settle himself first.

Wei Wuxian took a seat at the low table. He got comfortable and then started to stroke his cock with a soft sigh. It took him a few moments for his cock to fully harden but looking at Lan Zhan in that outfit was just about enough to make his skin prickle with excitement. “Come on then Lan Zhan,” he cooed.

Lan Zhan pulled off his underwear, though he didn’t sit in Wei Wuxian’s lap. He had left a space on the desk for him to lay down on it, and he went over to sit facing Wei Wuxian and spread his legs. He would need to be relaxed enough before he could take anything bigger than one finger.

“Are you going to touch yourself for me? I would love to watch you,” Wei Wuxian asked, cocking an eyebrow. He squeezed the head of his cock and kept his gaze focused on Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan sighed. He had been hoping to be eaten out, but... he _did_ love being watched. He took hold of his cock and stroked it with his thumb, teasing it to hardness. Wanting to use both hands, he lay back on the desk and shifted to get comfortable so he could use his left hand to trace circles around his opening. When he started to get wet, he slipped that finger inside and curled it in.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips as he watched. Lan Zhan took his own finger in so easily, he was surely getting used to having regular sex with him. He couldn’t wait to feel that tight heat around his cock again.

It took a few minutes before he started to squirm a little. Lan Zhan carefully added a second finger and waited for himself to adjust to it before stroking that sweet spot with both fingers. He kept a soft gaze on Wei Wuxian the whole time, taking in his lustful expression. Quiet, wet noises filled the air around them as he sped up a little.

A little while later, maybe fifteen minutes or so, he finally added a third finger. His cock was dripping with precum but he didn’t do anything with it other than a loose grip and a teasing thumb. He gave it another minute or two to make sure he was relaxed and wet enough, then he pulled his fingers out and popped them into his mouth, still staring at Wei Wuxian.

"Gods, Lan Zhan, you're so hot," Wei Wuxian breathed. He thumbed the tip of his cock and raked his eyes all over Lan Zhan's body.

Once he was satisfied, Lan Zhan sat up and turned around so he could get his knees around Wei Wuxian’s legs. He looked over his shoulder. “Get me positioned,” he said.

Wei Wuxian let out an approving hum and used one hand to grasp his cock and position it over Lan Zhan's entrance and used the other to hold his hip and guide him down onto his cock with a soft moan.

Lan Zhan slid down easily, the girth filling him up nice and tight. He loved this full feeling. He wouldn’t mind sitting there for quite a while. “No moving,” he said.

“I won’t,” Wei Wuxian replied. He squeezed Lan Zhan’s hips and let out a deep breath, taking to nuzzle against his neck instead.

Lan Zhan pulled his notebooks toward him and flipped through them. He hadn’t had a chance to look at them since he had left. He stopped at the page he had left for the lotus plant and got his pencil so he could start writing down the things he had learned while on his trip.

Wei Wuxian watched him for a moment before sliding his hands up and down his soft thighs. He looked in the mirror, eyes locked on where they were joined together. It was insanely erotic to be looking at this scene like this.

Lan Zhan met his gaze, looking wary. He knew Wei Wuxian wouldn’t make this easy for him. He did have a question, though.

“Do you like this red outfit or the blue one better?” he asked.

The red one left nothing to the imagination other than the panties. It didn’t hug his figure that well, but it didn’t matter when you could see through it. The blue one, on the other hand, was not see-through but it wrapped his thin waist snugly, showing off the slight widening of his hips. It was longer too, hiding all of the important parts beneath the teasing pleated bottom of the dress.

“Hmm, Lan Zhan makes everything look beautiful. Both have their charms… I like the blue one a lot, it compliments your figure and your complexion,” Wei Wuxian said. He ran his hands up the sides of Lan Zhan’s waist and leaned in to kiss under his jaw. Then his hands moved around to his stomach. “But I think I like the red one just a little bit more… it’s more erotic. Sexy.”

Lan Zhan hummed. He had guessed that much. He knew Wei Wuxian loved to look at him. “I want a white one,” he said. “I think I will make one for myself.”

“I read once that the colour white has a meaning of purity in some cultures…” Wei Wuxian said. His hand moved up to rub over his nipples through the fabric of the outfit. “Innocence… That’s far from this sort of thing, isn’t it?”

Lan Zhan raised his eyebrows. Innocence? “Do you want me to look innocent?” he asked. He could probably pull that off... maybe.

“You’d be just like any other omega if you did, wouldn’t you? Submissive, innocent… I like the fire in you. I like that you fight back, take what you want…” Wei Wuxian continued. He kissed down Lan Zhan’s neck, his cock twitching a little as he spoke.

Lan Zhan squeezed when he felt that twitch. “I’ll make it revealing then,” he said. “Are you going to be able to buy me that rabbit? I will save my money and buy it myself if not. Lace is expensive.”

Wei Wuxian’s breath hitched. “I thought you didn’t want me to pay for it? Not that it’s a complaint of course, I’d love you buy you a rabbit.”

“I told you you could ask me anything,” Lan Zhan said. “If you want to buy me a rabbit or take me on a date. I won’t mind it anymore.”

“As flattering as that is…” Wei Wuxian mumbled against his neck. “I’m worried you’re saying that because you’re afraid I’ll leave you if you don’t let me do whatever I want. I don’t want it to be like that. I only want to do things that you want too.”

Lan Zhan shifted a little so he could twist and look at Wei Wuxian directly. “I was uncomfortable with it before because I was afraid of having a romantic relationship,” he said softly. He found Wei Wuxian’s hand and slotted their hands together. “I did not want to owe you anything. But I want to now. I want to do things for you and care for you. And if you want to do those things too then you can. We are going to be married. It is a partnership.”

Wei Wuxian smiled a little. _They were going to be married._ “Okay. As long as you’re comfortable,” he said. He kissed his cheek. “I will buy you that rabbit.”

Lan Zhan gave him a gentle smile in return. He would go ahead and buy that lace, then. He turned back to his notebook and continued writing. “If you want to sketch out some ideas of what you’d like me to make, feel free to do so.”

“I would love to,” Wei Wuxian cooed. He kissed down Lan Zhan’s neck again, nibbling a little on the sensitive bit of skin at the junction of his neck and shoulder.

Lan Zhan moved a little bit away from him to escape it. He took a blank piece of paper from his notebook and set it to the side and put another pencil there. “Here,” he said.

Wei Wuxian chuckled a little and shifted to get into a position where he could draw with his arms either side of Lan Zhan’s waist. He leaned his chin on Lan Zhan’s shoulder, nuzzling up close to his neck again as he begun to doodle.

With Wei Wuxian distracted, Lan Zhan was able to focus on his research. He turned to the back of the page and continued drawing the lotus’s anatomy, referencing the notes he had taken on the trip. He then started writing out details of other plants he had seen in Yunmeng. There were many of them that he had found interesting.

It didn’t take Wei Wuxian long to realise he could draw with one hand. His other hand began to wander, sliding back over Lan Zhan’s thigh and squeezing it, then slipping to rub lightly over his inner thigh. “You’d really look pretty in just about anything,” he said.

Lan Zhan clenched around Wei Wuxian a little when he started to touch his thigh. He glanced over at what he was drawing. He realized he hadn’t really seen Wei Wuxian’s drawing skills until then. Not since he had drawn that picture for him while he was drunk. And apparently got offended by it.

“You should draw me more,” he said.

“Last time I drew you something, you threw it back in my face,” Wei Wuxian said casually as he kept drawing. He kept squeezing Lan Zhan’s thigh, enjoying the way he clenched around his cock when he did.

“Was I not drunk?” Lan Zhan replied. “If I recall correctly, I was upset that you would not sleep with me. I no longer have that problem.”

Wei Wuxian laughed. His fingers slipped even further between Lan Zhan’s legs to gently paw at where the two of them were connected. “It definitely isn’t a problem now,” he said.

“Behave,” Lan Zhan warned. He pulled a plant over so he could start reviving it. It was a honeysuckle plant that had wilted without sunlight.

“I’m not moving, you said I could touch you wherever I wanted. I’m not misbehaving,” Wei Wuxian said coyly. He grinned and kept gently rubbing over Lan Zhan’s opening, tracing where his cock sunk inside.

Lan Zhan huffed. “Leave my pussy alone,” he complained. “It’s already full.”

"Damn right it is," Wei Wuxian breathed. He chuckled again and pulled his fingers back, trailing them up the crack of Lan Zhan's ass instead. "I can play with your ass instead then?"

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath. “Don’t put your fingers in it,” he said. He didn’t think he could handle that, especially if Wei Wuxian would be doing other things with those fingers too.

"Aw, not even just one? Not even if I say pretty please?" Wei Wuxian asked. His finger gently ran up and down over the little hole tucked between his cheeks.

“No,” Lan Zhan said firmly. “I find it unclean. If I must sit here with you for a span of time I want your hands to be clean.”

"No part of you is dirty Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian replied. He put a little pressure on the small hole but not enough for his finger to slip inside.

Lan Zhan dropped his pencil and reached down to grab Wei Wuxian’s wrist and pull it away. He turned to give him a stern look. “Behave yourself,” he said.

Wei Wuxian huffed and carefully pulled his hand out of Lan Zhan’s grip. Well, what was fun was this? “You’re no fun,” he whined.

“No,” Lan Zhan said. He turned back to his plant. “Perhaps being aroused just makes you uncreative.”

“I can’t help it if I just want to stuff you full… All of your holes,” Wei Wuxian breathed against his neck.

Lan Zhan liked it when he talked to him, so if he couldn’t touch… He put his hand on his stomach. “And with my baby someday. I can’t wait for us to spend one of your heats together, so you’re all wet and excited for me. I knot you so good, for the fifth time that day, spear you open and fill you with my cum. You haven’t taken any potions, oh no, we’re hoping that my seed takes root in you. That you become pregnant with my baby.”

Lan Zhan’s hands stilled. There was no reason for him to react to that; the idea of being pregnant was one he thought about often, mostly in his dreams. But it wasn’t a sexual thing.

Except... for a couple of them.

He turned to look at Wei Wuxian intensely, licking his lips and then opening his mouth to speak. He debated whether to tell him about _those_ dreams, but he felt that it might be a little too... weird. He bit his lip and turned back around.

“I’ve thought about it a lot since we first talked about it and seeing you with Hudie just makes me so happy… I’ll take good care of you when you’re pregnant. Lots of massages, whatever food you’re craving I’ll get… Of course, I’ll treat you well at night too. I’ll eat you out until you fall asleep, fuck you nice and easy…”

That wasn’t as sexy. It was more... domestic. Lan Zhan hummed and thought about it, simmering down from his previous thoughts. “Even when I’m fat?” he asked. “I might not want to do anything.”

“If you don’t, then we won’t. But I’ve a feeling that all the hormones might make you even more horny than you are usually… Wouldn’t that be a sight? All whiny, aching for me inside you, your mate…” Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan made a noncommittal noise. “Judging by how I am during my heat I might just be more aggressive than usual. And cry all the time. I might make your life miserable.”

Wei Wuxian wouldn’t be deterred. He nipped lightly at Lan Zhan’s neck and rubbed small circles on his stomach. “I would love you anyway. Nothing could make me stop. I would understand, for it must be hard carrying a baby. _Our_ baby. Our own little bun to raise.”

Lan Zhan reached up to rub at the skin Wei Wuxian had nipped at. “I had a dream last week that you impregnated me with rabbits.”

“What kind of dream was it?” Wei Wuxian asked. He was more genuinely curious than trying to keep up this sweet talk.

“We weren’t married yet,” Lan Zhan said. “I knew you had put something in me and I knew it was not human but I didn’t know what it was until I had them. I had to hide it from my family. I have had these dreams many times before but this was the first time you were in it... as a human.”

He looked away, his expression thoughtful. “I’ve dreamed of being pregnant with a human child a few times but it feels different. Those are usually nightmares.” There was always some kind of danger he had to escape, or a fear that he would not be able to protect the child from something or other.

Wei Wuxian needed a way to change the subject to something a bit a lighter. His hand slid back up to Lan Zhan’s nipples where he pinched lightly through the fabric.

“What if I could impregnate you with my tentacles, huh? They stuff you nice and full too, they wouldn’t stop fucking you even after you were exhausted,” he said.

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened and he looked at Wei Wuxian through the mirror. He knew he sort of looked like he had his hand in the cookie jar, though it wasn’t like Wei Wuxian knew what those _other_ dreams were about. He fought against the tingle in his gut and looked back at his plant silently.

“Could you imagine if they were sentient? If they really could stuff you full of their little tentacle babies? What would they be like, do you think? Eggs?” Wei Wuxian said idly.

Lan Zhan’s eyebrow twitched. _Oh no._ He felt himself get wetter around Wei Wuxian’s cock and his own twitched a little. Unable to keep it in, he blurted out, “The last time I was in heat and I saw your tentacles I had a dream that you were a demon and you bred me.”

His voice was a little louder than usual, his words faster. Like if he didn’t declare it at that moment he never would. His ears burned and he avoided Wei Wuxian’s gaze.

Wei Wuxian grinned. There was no way he hadn’t felt the way Lan Zhan got even more aroused at his words. Jackpot. His hand slid inside his robes and he toyed with Lan Zhan’s nipples, rolling one carefully in each hand and teasing them. “That turns you on, does it? The idea of a demon me seducing you? Pinning you under my claws and fangs and fucking you raw, using my tentacles to hold you, to fill all your other holes until you’re dripping with my cum,” he said.

Lan Zhan gripped the table hard, trying to keep a hold of himself while Wei Wuxian drove him crazy. But his scent was out of control and his face twitched. So it wasn’t too weird for him then...

“I’d keep you locked away as my sex toy,” Wei Wuxian decided to continue. “Just until you became obedient, ready to sit and warm my cock any time, just like this. Then, I’ll do you the honour of marking you, claiming you as my own, keeping you full of my children.”

Lan Zhan’s thighs shook slightly and he took a deep breath. Pleasure built up even though he wasn’t being touched, just from the mental image, and he tried to relax himself. He didn’t want to cum yet.

He knew it was dangerous, but Wei Wuxian moved a hand down just to draw one finger up the length of Lan Zhan’s aching cock. “You seem awfully hard here, Lan Zhan,” he said. “Are my words really turning you on that much? Are you that shameless?”

A cut-off noise left Lan Zhan’s throat and he visibly shivered. He could feel the slick on his inner thighs now. He wasn’t going to respond to that. He focused on his breathing and keeping himself still.

“Don’t you want to cum, baby?” Wei Wuxian whispered in his ear. He thumbed the tip of his cock lightly, wiping away some of the precum. “It’s okay if you do.”

Lan Zhan shook his head. He wanted to wait. If he came now he would be a mess. “I can hold on,” he said, trying to convince himself as well as Wei Wuxian.

"Can you? Are you sure?" Wei Wuxian egged him on, carefully wrapping his fingers around his cock.

Lan Zhan nodded firmly. He stared at the plant in front of him, willing himself to simmer down. He wouldn’t cum from just a few touches. He had edged himself enough times before.

Wei Wuxian hummed and squeezed his cock lightly. “Shall I go back to talking about how I was going to keep you as my sex slave then? My own personal breeding toy?” he said.

Lan Zhan’s confidence faltered. He sent a nervous look at Wei Wuxian through the mirror. He kind of wanted to hear it, he wanted to indulge in this messed up fantasy, but he also wanted to keep his pride.

“You’d have so many of my children. When you’re not pregnant, I’m fucking you full of my cum, until you’re bloated,” Wei Wuxian said.

"Would they be as annoying as their father?" Lan Zhan asked, giving his best attempt to keep himself from caving.

Wei Wuxian squeezed Lan Zhan’s cock a little harder when he said that, as if to scold him. “They’d be just as beautiful as you. Together we’d make the most gorgeous kids, don’t you think?”

Lan Zhan shivered when Wei Wuxian squeezed him like that. He thought about little demon babies toddling around with unnatural agility, gnawing on his arms and flapping their little demonic wings. It was kind of cute, actually. "In a way," he said.

“Maybe my cock would be even bigger if I was a demon but it wouldn’t matter. You’d get so used to me, sitting on my cock all day. With me around, you’d always be wet, open, ready for me to fuck,” Wei Wuxian said huskily.

"You could always have your minions keep me contained while you were gone," Lan Zhan said, thinking about the tentacles. It was amazing that he had a fiancé who could just... make demonic-looking tentacles with a twist of his fingers. Or any sorts of props.

“You should know by now Lan Zhan, I don’t like to share,” Wei Wuxian replied. He gently started stroking Lan Zhan’s cock again.

Lan Zhan took a long, shaking breath. "I was referring to your tentacles," he said after he knew he was stable. "You did not seem to mind sharing with them."

“Perhaps but I like to watch,” Wei Wuxian said. He kissed down his neck and then licked a path back up. “You taste so good Lan Zhan, you smell even better. I could just eat you up.”

Lan Zhan stared at Wei Wuxian through the mirror. It looked so obscene, sitting in his lap and being pleasured by him. “It’s been a while since you claimed me,” he murmured.

“I think you’d cum right away if I claimed you right now,” Wei Wuxian said with a light chuckle.

Wei Wuxian had a point. But Lan Zhan thought that he could hold on anyway. It wasn’t like he was fucking him or anything. “Try me,” he said.

Wei Wuxian kept up a careful pace stroking Lan Zhan’s cock as he kissed his neck again. Then, he dug his teeth in to the junction of his neck, where his scent was the strongest, keeping it there for a few seconds so it would leave a soft claim for at least a month.

The pain was sharp and Lan Zhan tensed up, gripping the table hard. The tension egged on the orgasm that was waiting to show up, and Lan Zhan bit his lip and moaned quietly. If Wei Wuxian wasn’t stroking him then it would have been easier. He tried to make himself relax, but his thighs just tensed up again. Just as Wei Wuxian let go he came hard with a breathless moan. It was powerful — they always were when he tried to resist — and he slumped forward over the desk, unable to hold himself up.

Wei Wuxian let out a moan of his own as he felt Lan Zhan quiver and convulse around his cock when he came. “I told you,” he said. He let go of his cock and licked up the cum that had spilt onto his fingers.

“Shut up,” Lan Zhan whined. He buried his face in his arms and his hot, forceful breaths filled the space he made until he could calm them down. Then he sat up again, though his thighs visibly quivered.

Wei Wuxian squeezed his thigh and took a shaky breath. “Can I fuck you now?”

“No,” Lan Zhan said, picking up his pencil. “I’m going to finish my work or decide it’s time to sleep. Then you can.”

“If it isn’t soon, it might be too late,” Wei Wuxian said. He’d definitely felt his cock throb when Lan Zhan came around him.

“If you can come without moving then I’d like to see it,” Lan Zhan said. It sounded... really hot, actually. He kept working on copying his Yunmeng notes, feeling more calm than before.

“If you kept on squeezing you like you did when you came, I might be able to,” Wei Wuxian replied with a huff.

Lan Zhan hummed. He wasn’t going to go out of his way to do that again, but he did tighten up a little every now and then just on reflex. He wanted to see if Wei Wuxian would last, though.

Wei Wuxian squeezed Lan Zhan's thighs and then moved his hands up to toy with his nipples again. He kissed the claim mark he'd made and laved his tongue over it fondly.

That did make Lan Zhan tense up. He took a deep breath through his nose and put more effort into focusing on his work. His nipples were so sensitive, it always bordered the line between pleasurable and uncomfortable, or both at the same time.

“I think watching you cum must be the most amazing thing in the world,” Wei Wuxian whispered as he kept up his motions. “You’re so beautiful in the throes of passion.”

Lan Zhan breathed out sharply. "Should I stop controlling my expressions then?" he asked. He knew Wei Wuxian had seen his ridiculous facial expressions where his eyes rolled back and his mouth hung open like a dog. He tried not to do that when he could. He reached up to shield his nipples from Wei Wuxian's abuse.

“Yes. Definitely yes. I love seeing you lose control, I love seeing the look on your face when you’re in the throes of pleasure,” Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan hummed. “That could be a reward for you, could it not?” he said. “Having me not hold anything back.”

“I’d like that very much,” Wei Wuxian said, hands trailing back down to squeeze his thighs again.

Lan Zhan looked at him through the mirror. "Do something nice for me and I'll think about it," he said. He thought about the rabbit Wei Wuxian was going to buy for him. "How much money do you have? Will you be able to afford that rabbit any time soon?"

“I’ll find the money to get it for you soon, I promise,” Wei Wuxian mumbled against his skin. He kissed up from his claim to the bottom of his jaw.

Lan Zhan tilted his head towards Wei Wuxian a little, pushing against his lips. "You can help me build their pen," he said.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Wei Wuxian continued. He kept kissing up and down his neck with a thoughtful hum.

Lan Zhan thought about what the pen would look like while he worked on the plant in front of him. He wanted it to be big, somewhere he could lay down soil and grow grass. He ideally wanted it in his room, but with his mat he wasn't sure he could do that. He might put it on the first floor. Maybe he didn't even need a pen... he could just dump soil into one of the dorm rooms that had a window and grow grass there. Or he could have his brother bring up wheelbarrows' worth of soil to the fourth floor so he could turn the other side of the flat wall into a big indoor rabbit pasture. If he got more rabbits they would surely like that. Grass was relatively easy to grow. And his brother could always throw the dirt out the window if he changed his mind. Manipulation magic was extremely convenient. He would just need to find the right soil first.

He was surprised that Wei Wuxian behaved himself after that. Well... for the most part. He would sit quietly and doodle on the page Lan Zhan gave him and then get bored and start touching him again. Lan Zhan bore through it as much as he could, though he still got fussy when Wei Wuxian touched his asshole again. He truly did not know why Wei Wuxian was so fascinated with it. Eventually it just took a stern look in his eye to get him to move to safer areas, though.

It had to be at least ten thirty when he started nodding off. He had filled out pages in his notebook and revived all of the plants at his desk and drew out what a rabbit pen might look like if he had one in his room. He took Wei Wuxian's doodles and pondered over them, wondering how much lace he would have to buy. They were all extremely revealing, which amused Lan Zhan. He didn't like the tease of hidden parts, apparently.

He made his own notes next to the doodles and drew over them lightly with a red chalk pencil to note which parts he would change or keep. He did find the lace bodysuit interesting -- it would probably not be very comfortable, unless he could find some especially soft silk lace. He'd look around the city when they went to the farm the next day.

When he was too tired to think anymore, he set his pencil down and started to organize his papers into stacks. He set them down in a safe spot where they wouldn't be disturbed from what would come next. Carefully, he lifted himself off of Wei Wuxian, and it felt dreadfully empty. He turned around and lay down on the desk where he had been working and looked up at Wei Wuxian expectantly.

Wei Wuxian looked Lan Zhan up and down then grinned. He grabbed hold of the base of his cock to line it back up with Lan Zhan’s wet entrance. With a moan, he pushed back inside and then grabbed his hips. “Fuck, I could hardly wait any longer,” he breathed and then sunk all the way inside.

Lan Zhan arched his back and reached up to hold onto the end of the table above his head. "Do your worst," he said.

At that, Wei Wuxian grinned and grabbed one of Lan Zhan’s thighs to throw his leg over his shoulder. He started to thrust into Lan Zhan’s wet heat with a groan, steadily building up a fast and hard pace.

Lan Zhan squeezed his eyes shut and furrowed his brow, holding his breath when he could to keep control of himself and keep his noises inside. Wei Wuxian really was giving it his all; they hadn’t had particularly rough sex in a while because of the need for stealth. But here in his room, there was no need to keep quiet.

“Oh fuck, it feels so good to be fucking you properly,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He squeezed Lan Zhan’s hip as he kept up the pace. “You feel so good around me, I surely won’t last long like this.”

Lan Zhan arched his back again. Unable to handle it, he squirmed and then pulled himself up so he could wrap his arms around Wei Wuxian's neck, his leg still clamping down on his shoulder. "Cum in me," he breathed. "Knot me. Breed me."

“Yes, oh Gods, yes! I’m going to knot you real good baby, I’m going to fill you,” Wei Wuxian breathed. He leaned down and buried his face against Lan Zhan’s neck as he fucked in just a bit harder to chase his orgasm. With a few stutters of his hips, he came with a long moan, spilling hot into Lan Zhan’s tight pussy and his knot expanding steadily.

The sound of Wei Wuxian's moan accompanied by the knot pressing against his sensitive spots was what sent Lan Zhan over. He gripped Wei Wuxian hard, his nails digging in as he came for the second time. Towards the end of it he went limp, falling back against the desk with a quiet moan of his own while his body twitched.

Wei Wuxian panted against Lan Zhan’s skin. He closed his eyes and his body slumped against him. “Wow… that was good.”

Lan Zhan's legs flopped to the sides and he breathed out hard. "Yeah," he agreed, knowing he wouldn't be able to manage a simple hum like usual. He untied the strings of his robe but didn't use the effort to take it off yet. His body was still buzzing with pleasure. He was sure he could cum again pretty quickly if Wei Wuxian jerked him off. He flexed his hips in little movements, enjoying the sensation.

"I can't wait to do weird things with you," he admitted in a daze. "It's been boring having to keep quiet all the time."

Wei Wuxian’s body rumbled with a laugh. He pulled back from his neck to kiss him, then his eyes flickered down to see Lan Zhan’s cock still hard against his stomach. “Me too,” he whispered. He reached down between them to wrap his hands around Lan Zhan’s cock. “You want this? Or are you too sensitive?”

Lan Zhan bit his lip as his hips tried to cant up. "I want it," he said. "Do it fast."

Wei Wuxian was happy to obey. He started to jerk off Lan Zhan quickly, pumping his cock as fast as he could while taking the occasional pause to thumb at his tip.

Lan Zhan tensed up once again, unable to stop himself from sitting up again and burying his face in Wei Wuxian's neck. The orgasm hit him about thirty seconds later, leaving him feeling even more raw than before. He shoed Wei Wuxian's hand away and replaced it with his own, pumping it at a brutal pace. He was so wound up, he knew he wasn't going to stop until it was too painful to keep going.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t tear his eyes away from him, watching him writhe underneath him and moan. It was incredibly erotic. “You’re doing so good,” he mumbled.

Lan Zhan shamelessly jerked himself off until he could no longer tell what was an orgasm and what wasn’t. He was sweating buckets and trembling all over. He kept going even when every stroke sent sparks up his body, even when it became painful. It eventually got to the point where he wasn’t sure he was _able_ to cum again; every time he got close he just couldn’t seem to go that last inch. _Just one more,_ he thought, putting every last drop of his energy into it.

When it finally washed over him it _hurt_ but in the best of ways. He was sure he was going to lose consciousness, but he just lay back on the table and rested. His body was still begging to keep going but he knew he was done.

“Omegas really are amazing,” Wei Wuxian mumbled. He carefully scooped up Lan Zhan in his arms and carried him over to the bed where he laid him down amongst the pillows and blankets, still connected to him. He laid on top of him and nuzzled against his neck.

Lan Zhan wanted to protest and demand Wei Wuxian bathe him before putting him in the bed all sweaty and gross. The sheets were crisp and clean! But the only thing he could manage was a short noise of complaint. He couldn’t even lift a hand to put out the lights. He closed his eyes, already drifting.

Wei Wuxian decided to turn the lights out himself. He was growing tired and they could wash up in the morning. “I love you,” he mumbled against Lan Zhan’s skin.

Lan Zhan let out a calmer hum and turned his head to nuzzle a little against him. “Goodnight,” he mumbled.

“Goodnight,” Wei Wuxian replied with a smile. He closed his eyes. At some point, he would undoubtedly wake up during the night after his knot had gone down and pull out so they could cuddle properly, but for now, he was content to fall asleep like this.


	36. A Sweet Morning

Lan Zhan slept in. He was woken up by the morning bells but he went back to sleep and got up a little while later. He had taken his itchy lingerie robe off at some point during the night when it bothered him enough to wake him. He patted Wei Wuxian’s back. “I need to bathe,” he said.

Wei Wuxian grumbled a little and then rolled onto his back as he woke. "Can I bathe with you? I'm grimy."

“Mm.” Lan Zhan sat up and stretched.

He was completely naked, which bothered him. He took one of the blankets from the bed and wrapped it around him as he stood up, then he made his way to the bath to draw one. He was sore from the night before. His inner walls stung a little bit, but that happened sometimes after particularly rough sex. There wasn’t really anything to heal. He sat down in the tub when he started the water, letting it rise up slowly while he fully woke up. He cupped his hands under the water and splashed his face, then drank some.

Wei Wuxian followed him over. Once it was a little more full, he got into the bath facing Lan Zhan and let out a sigh as he sunk into the water. “This is nice,” he breathed. “How are you this morning? Does it hurt anywhere?”

Lan Zhan scooted closer and leaned on Wei Wuxian, tucking his head under his chin and closing his eyes sleepily. “Somewhat,” he said. “You gave it a beating...”

“You like it when I’m rough with you,” Wei Wuxian teased, wrapping his arms around him as he spoke. Truthfully, he had missed this kind of sex with Lan Zhan.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan enjoyed the warmth of the rising water. He thought about what they would be doing that day and considered whether he wanted to have a quickie in the bath. It was going to be a busy day... he wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian’s waist and slid closer to him. He turned his head to nibble on his collarbone.

Wei Wuxian let out a satisfactory hum and tilted his head to the side to allow Lan Zhan better access to his skin. His hands ran up and down Lan Zhan’s back.

Such yielding only put a spark in Lan Zhan’s eyes. He let out a tiny, barely-audible growl under his breath as he moved to sit in Wei Wuxian’s lap. He bit a little harsher on his collarbone and sucked hard for a few seconds. He wanted to leave a nice, big mark there. He reached up and turned the water off since it had reached three-quarters full.

“You’re a bit bitey this morning, huh?” Wei Wuxian said. He groaned a little when Lan Zhan nibbled at his skin but made no move to stop him.

Lan Zhan felt the urge to tease. "How could I not when you bare your neck so sweetly?" He looked at the red mark he had left and then moved higher up and pulled Wei Wuxian's shoulder forward so he could reach the junction of his neck and shoulder where the scent was the strongest.

"You like it when I submit to you, don't you?" Wei Wuxian said with a chuckle. Some alphas would be offended at the idea of it, but Wei Wuxian didn't mind so much.

"It excites me," Lan Zhan admitted. He rubbed his lips over the spot and then bit down harshly to mark him. The way the scent changed in response made him feel powerful. He licked over the bite when he was done.

Wei Wuxian's breath hitched when Lan Zhan claimed him. He let his eyes flutter shut and he leaned his head back. "I see that."

Lan Zhan squeezed Wei Wuxian's side, then moved his hand lower to tickle his cock, just barely a touch. "Will you submit to me now?" he asked, his voice low.

"I submit to you," Wei Wuxian replied softly. He whined a little when Lan Zhan's fingers skimmed over his cock, it twitching against them.

Lan Zhan hummed and nipped at his neck. "Not good enough," he said. "I want to smell it."

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath and let his scent relax. He spread his legs a little wider and bucked his hips up, baring his throat even more. His scent slowly morphed into a submissive one. It wasn’t something he did often.

No dessert could be more addicting than the sweetness of that scent, combined with the subtle tang of the claim. This was all _his._ Lan Zhan planted his face in Wei Wuxian's neck and inhaled deeply. He could smell his own scent changing a little too, just enough of a hint of aggression to suggest dominance. He brought his right hand up to rub at the scent gland to get more of that sweet scent out, and his left finally wrapped around Wei Wuxian's cock and rubbed his thumb under it while it hardened.

"Good boy," he whispered against his neck.

Wei Wuxian’s scent only got stronger when Lan Zhan praised him. He let out a small whimper and bucked his hips up once again, into Lan Zhan’s hand. “Yes,” he rasped. “I am your good boy.”

This was too good. Lan Zhan felt buttered up. He shifted so he could sit between Wei Wuxian's spread legs. He couldn't fuck him right then in the bath, but he didn't need to. Just getting this kind of reaction out of his alpha was more than enough to satisfy him. "Good boys get rewards, don't they?" he asked.

“I would be honoured to get a reward, if you would be so kind to me,” Wei Wuxian kept up the act, looking at Lan Zhan with lidded eyes.

Lan Zhan kissed his neck and then brought his right hand down to massage his balls. His middle finger slipped further down to rub at his perineum.

"I can keep it here or I can put it inside," he said, rubbing that finger in circles. He wasn't as hesitant to suggest anal play as he usually would be, since he was in the bath and could easily clean up his fingers.

Wei Wuxian on the other hand was surprised to hear Lan Zhan offer such a thing so he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity. He wiggled his hips a little, letting the water swish and splash as he did. “Inside me,” he whined. “Please.”

Lan Zhan crooned, feeling somewhat nurturing in response to the whining and pleading. He slipped his middle finger inside Wei Wuxian as far as it would go and pressed up and prodded around to find the spot that made him melt. His left hand started a slow dance up and down Wei Wuxian's cock, pausing to twist or rub here and there.

That made Wei Wuxian let out a small moan. He hadn’t had anything inside him like this since the first time they’d had sex again in the inn, right at the start of break. It was strange but not unpleasant, it morphed slowly into pleasure when Lan Zhan’s finger curled into his prostate and his cock spilt a fair amount of precum.

Lan Zhan could tell when he'd found it by the way Wei Wuxian's body tensed up a little, reacting to the pleasure. He rubbed his finger back and forth over that spot and started to stroke his cock a little faster. "You're being a good boy," he said. "Is it because you know I'll be giving you a big treat tonight?"

“Am I not…ah… always good for you?” Wei Wuxian said, a smile tugging on his lips. He had to admit that his good behaviour was encouraged by the promise of what Lan Zhan was going to do for him.

"No," Lan Zhan said. "But that's not a bad thing." He pressed as hard as he could and then backed off, making a rhythm of hard presses and soft rubs. "When you're in charge I like it when you're a bad boy."

Wei Wuxian let out another long moan, his breath getting a little quicker. He could feel himself teetering on the edge already. “Everything I do is for you,” he said.

Lan Zhan leaned forward and kissed his collarbone, following it with a nip. "I know," he murmured.

He sensed Wei Wuxian getting close and moved his left hand faster. He decided that one of these days he wanted to edge him. Bring him close and then let go, make him simmer down. Over and over. He added that to his list of things to do.

That was enough for Wei Wuxian. His eyelashes fluttered as he climaxed with a cry, spilling hot into Lan Zhan’s hand and the bath water. Well, so much for getting too clean.

He panted a little and then met Lan Zhan’s eyes fondly. “Thank you, you’re the best,” he mumbled, leaning in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan smiled a little and returned the kiss while he pulled his hands away. He went ahead and pulled the drain on the tub but turned the water back on so they could wash themselves for real.

"I think the baby rabbits will be adults now," he said, thinking about what they would be doing that day.

“Probably. I bet they’re still just as cute though,” Wei Wuxian replied with a thoughtful hum. He thought back to that time they’d gone to the farm together.

"Mm." Lan Zhan started to soap himself down. "Do you remember the farmer's son that had the puppies?" he asked.

“I do. Why?” Wei Wuxian asked. He started to soap himself down as well. There was no way he could forget that, he’d fled like his life depended on it.

"I told Jiang Shisong about him," Lan Zhan said. He felt a little guilty about it; was this creepy? "I think they would be good friends. They're both... awkward but sweet."

That… made sense actually. Wei Wuxian nodded. “Yeah and they both work on farms… Maybe you’re right. Jiang Shisong could do with some more friends.”

Feeling playful, Lan Zhan teased, "They could bond over eyefucking me." He soaped up his hands and then ran them over Wei Wuxian's chest and shoulders.

“Well in that case, I should be their best friend too,” Wei Wuxian teased right back. He couldn’t deny he got a bit protective whenever Lan Zhan was with Jiang Shisong but he told himself it was more about making sure his mate was safe than jealousy.

"Jiang Shisong might like that but I don't know about Shi Taibai," Lan Zhan said. "You're the only one who can take baths with me. Might cause tension." He hummed thoughtfully. "He's tried to court me before."

"Really?" Wei Wuxian asked curiosily. This was news to him. "When was this? Did you turn him down flat?"

Lan Zhan could tell this was important information to him. "Once when I was twelve," he said, "he asked if I would marry him when we got older. I told him I would not marry anyone. Two years ago he asked if I was seeing anyone and when I said no he asked if he could take me on a date. I told him no. He never reacted poorly. Last year when I visited I was telling Su Ming that I would be a terrible housewife and he commented that whoever I marry I would make them very happy. I think he has accepted that I will not be interested in him. But he is still easily flustered around me."

“I’m glad he’s always been respectful. I’d have something to say about it if he’d been pushy or persistent,” Wei Wuxian said.

"Mm." Lan Zhan used the rag to wash his face.

He thought about that family, and how strange it was to see how it worked. It was the only real example of a family involving an omega man that Lan Zhan knew personally.

"Their family is somewhat traditional. The farmer is an alpha woman and they call her the father, and the one who gave birth to them is an omega man they call their mother. But casually, he is papa and she is mama. He is a traditional housewife and stays in the home while she cares for the farm. The farmer's brother is who got him pregnant each time. They had an agreement."

"I feel so lucky to have you though, you know? I'd love you no matter what but you being an omega man is so... rare. I've always wanted kids and knowing that it's biologically possible for us to..." Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan hummed thoughtfully. "It's scary sometimes," he said. "I know about what it is like for women. It is not common to hear about how pregnancy goes for omega men. Shi Qianmu's husband is pregnant with his eighth child and he is still healthy I think."

Wei Wuxian didn’t like to think of Lan Zhan in pain or suffering because of him. He tried to keep things light-hearted, like he did best. “Would you have 8 kids for me if I wanted them?” he asked.

"No," Lan Zhan said. Thinking about the night before he added, "Unless they were demon babies."

“You would have 8 of my demon babies but not 8 of my regular, human babies? The discrimination Lan Zhan, honestly,” Wei Wuxian said in mock offense.

"Human babies have to be raised as respectable people," Lan Zhan argued. "No one will judge me if my demon babies are rude and bite people." He got out of the bath and got a towel to dry off.

Wei Wuxian hopped out of the bath after him and dried off quickly. Then, he grabbed Lan Zhan and launched him into the air in his arms, running to throw him down on the bed and climbing over top of him. He laughed and kissed the side of his mouth. “Not even if I said pretty, pretty please?” he cooed.

Lan Zhan was speechless for a moment, shocked that Wei Wuxian had just tossed him around. Once his heart rate slowed a bit he said, "Become a demon and get back to me."

That only served to make Wei Wuxian laugh harder. He peppered Lan Zhan’s face in kisses between chuckles and then pulled back just to admire him. His gaze was soft as he stroked Lan Zhan’s cheek with his hand, rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone.

“You really are beautiful,” he said quietly. “The Gods would have nothing on you.”

Lan Zhan gazed back up at him, equally soft, and then he reached up to rub at the red mark he'd put on his collarbone. "In our next lives, I will be a god and you can be the demon king that steals me from the heavens."

“They wouldn’t deserve you,” Wei Wuxian said. He leaned in to kiss him, slowly and passionately this time, just enjoying holding and tasting him.

Lan Zhan relaxed, letting his hand fall next to his head. He followed Wei Wuxian's lead, content to just be kissed. The farm could wait.

When they parted, Wei Wuxian rested his forehead against Lan Zhan’s. “I love you,” he said. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before and honestly, it’s a little scary. But I know that I want to give you everything. The world.”

Lan Zhan smiled softly, his heart squeezing in his chest. He bit his lip for a few seconds, then closed his eyes and whispered, very quietly, "I love you."

They were content to stay like that for just a little while, letting their breathing sync to the same rhythm. Wei Wuxian had never felt more happy, more content with his life.


	37. Wei Fang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to the farm and get honey and sauces, and Wei Wuxian talks about having kids.

They got to the farm about an hour or so before lunchtime. Shi Qianmu hadn't been expecting them this time, so when the carriage stopped in front of the house, they got off and went straight to the front door. Lan Zhan hoped that they weren't too busy.

The one who answered the door was Shi Qianmu's husband, Wei Fang. He was a pretty omega, he was shorter than Lan Zhan and he kept his hair in a topknot like him. He had his hand resting over his big and swollen belly. He smiled warmly at the two. "Hello, Lan Zhan."

Lan Zhan put his hands together and bowed. "Wei Xian sheng," he said. "This is my mate, Wei Wuxian. We were hoping to buy some honey and dessert sauces. Do you have any in stock?"

Wei Fang looked between the two and nodded, stepping aside. "We have some fresh," he said. "Come on in."

Wei Wuxian was drawn to the pregnant omega. He’d seen a fair number of pregnant omegas in his life but they were never men, given how rare they were. It was amazing to see, a beautiful gift of nature, and he was _huge._ Was it normal for their stomachs to get _that_ big? Would Lan Zhan be the same when he got him pregnant? “Thank you,” he said, bowing towards Wei Fang with a smile and then following Lan Zhan inside.

“Is this for the students or just you?” Wei Fang asked.

“Just us,” Lan Zhan said. “I’m trying to learn how to cook.”

Wei Fang gave him a knowing smile over his shoulder. “I told you that you would one day,” he said. “Never think you will, then you meet an alpha that changes everything.”

They walked past a room where a teenager sat with two younger children and a toddler. They were playing with an assortment of painted wooden toys and cloth dolls.

“Xiao Mao has grown,” Lan Zhan said fondly. He remembered holding him shortly after he was born when he visited two years earlier.

“He’s a wild child,” Wei Fang said with a smile.

Wei Wuxian was drawn to the children, unable to stop himself from grinning as he watched them. A big, happy family... it sounded nice. "Your children are beautiful," he said.

“Thank you,” Wei Fang said proudly. “After this one pops out I’ll be calling it quits.”

“What is it like having so many babies?” Lan Zhan asked suddenly.

Wei Fang glanced at him. They walked out the back of the house and towards a little shed nearby. “Being pregnant you mean? I like it. It’s hard, lots of aches and pains, can’t move around that well. Birth is pretty horrible. It takes someone of great endurance to do it. I always say if you aren’t strong enough to go to war then don’t have a baby. But it is worth it to me.”

He opened up the shed and walked inside. There were shelves all along the walls and boxes too. “The honey we got yesterday is in this box right here. What kind of sauces do you want? We have pear, strawberry, peach, plum, jujube, chocolate and blueberry.”

“I’ll take one of each,” Lan Zhan said. He picked out three jars of honey. He really did want to use it to make some cakes. The sauces at this farm were famous around the surrounding cities. “How much are they?”

“Let’s see.” Wei Fang got a piece of paper and jotted down some numbers. “It will be twenty-two coins.”

Lan Zhan deposited the honey in Wei Wuxian’s arms so he could get the money from his bag.

“I’ll be honest,” Wei Fang said, “I never expected you would get a mate, Lan Zhan. Qianmu told me she had a hunch you’d be getting one soon after the both of you were here last time but I didn’t believe her. You were still so adamant about not marrying last time we spoke about it.”

Lan Zhan flushed a little as he counted out the coins.

“I guess I must just be special, huh Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian said with a chuckle. He nudged Lan Zhan with his elbow as best he could while he was still carrying the honey.

Lan Zhan avoided his gaze while Wei Fang laughed. “You two are cute,” he said. “Is your mother teaching you house skills now?”

Lan Zhan shook his head and handed the money to him. “She told me I might consider coming to work for you for a while so I can learn,” he said.

Wei Fang’s eyes widened. “Oh I’d _love_ it,” he said. “My eldest daughters are both getting married soon, you know, so I’ll have a lot less help around here. And being as big as I am it gets difficult. You just let me know and we’ll work something out. We’ll turn you into a proper housewife in no time. Or househusband, whichever you prefer.”

“You know I’d love you just as much regardless of what you choose to do,” Wei Wuxian reminded Lan Zhan. It felt strange to be saying such soft, domestic things when they were buying all this honey and these desert sauces for more vulgar activities later.

Wei Fang nudged Lan Zhan. “He’s a keeper,” he whispered with a wink. When Lan Zhan looked down and blushed even more, he laughed. “Since you came all the way, do you want to see the animals?”

Lan Zhan brightened. “Do you still have the puppies?” he asked.

Wei Fang nodded. “We’re training them before we sell them,” he said. “They’re still pretty small. I think Qianmu has them out in the sheep field right now. They’re at the wild stage, they’ll love if you throw some toys around.”

Lan Zhan smiled wide and bounced a little bit. He _loved_ puppies. He looked at Wei Wuxian, his smile fading to concern. “Do you want to stay behind?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Wei Wuxian said with a nervous laugh. He turned to look at Wei Fang. “I’d love to talk to you, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” Wei Fang said.

Lan Zhan went ahead and trotted off to the sheep field, not even trying to keep a proper gait in his excitement.

“My girls are making lunch now, they don’t need me at the moment. You can help me feed the rabbits, though. We save up our vegetable scraps from lunch.” He waddled back toward the house.

“Of course,” Wei Wuxian said. He tucked all of the honey and sauces into his bag and then followed Wei Fang to collect the vegetable scraps before they headed out towards the rabbits. Once they were alone, he spoke again. “Hey, so, um… What made you choose to have so many children?”

Wei Fang hummed thoughtfully while he opened the door to the pen and stepped inside. The rabbits hopped over excitedly, knowing they were getting fed.

“I always knew I wanted kids,” he said as he went to sit in the chair he’d put in the corner of the pen. “I was planning on only three, but our youngest one turned four and I decided I wanted more. Qianmu came from a family of ten children, but her mother didn’t make it through the last one. She told me she wanted at least one to inherit the farm but she wouldn’t make me have more than that. She won’t let me have anymore after this one, and I’m fine with that.”

“I understand that. I’d… like a big family, I think. But I’d be happy with just any kids, whatever Lan Zhan is willing to have. I’m surprised he’s even talked about it more positively with me, he was very against the idea the first time we talked about it,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Wei Fang smiled. “I’m sure you know him better than I do,” he said. “But from the conversations we’ve had since he was a young boy, I think he would be a good parent. But I will say that if you or him is at all unsure, wait a while. If you’ve got any life goals other than children, like traveling or learning a trade, do that first. Once you have kids, doing those things becomes very difficult. And it is not easy on the body. Lan Zhan is young and beautiful and physically capable. Let him take advantage of that while he can.”

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. “I don’t think we’ll be having any in the near future. There are things I want to do and I want Lan Zhan to be fully confident and sure that’s what he wants. I think he’d be a good parent too.”

Wei Fang nodded. He handed Wei Wuxian some of the vegetables so he could help feed the rabbits. “Let him come to you,” he said. “If he knows you want kids, he’ll let you know when he’s ready. If he was nervous about it before, best not bring it up too often.” He held out a cucumber for Snowball to munch on. “Did he ever tell you why he was against the idea before?”

“He’s never said it directly but… I think he’s afraid he won’t be a good parent. He likes babies but he’s worried about when they get older. I think he’ll do just fine though,” Wei Wuxian said. He took some of the vegetables and started feeding the rabbits as well. “I’ve tried not to push it, just the odd casual mention and… I’ve told him that I think he’d do a good job.”

“Ahh.” Wei Fang nodded. “That will go away with time probably. He just needs to spend time with kids. Either he’ll learn how to deal with them and realize it’s not that bad or he’ll realize children are way too much of a hassle. I don’t think his older brother is married, is he? I haven’t talked with Lan Xia in a long while.”

“Lan Xichen is still unmarried, yeah,” Wei Wuxian confirmed. “I’ve never seen him with a mate or anything of the sort.”

Wei Fang hummed. “Well if Lan Zhan works for me for a while he’ll get plenty of time to spend with kids. My young ones are 3, 6, 9 and 13. And this one’ll be born in probably another month or so. Are you a student at the university?”

Wei Wuxian nodded quickly. “Yes! Proudly so. It’s how Lan Zhan and I met after all.”

“Ah.” Wei Fang sighed. “I was going to suggest you come too, if Lan Zhan does. It doesn’t hurt for the alpha to know house skills too, you know. But your studies are more important. I think they have some classes there, don’t they? Cooking, sewing, stuff like that? I think Lan Zhan might have mentioned it before. I think he said he didn’t want to take them. You should ask about it.”

“I will ask. I’d like to be able to help in any way I can and… I don’t think Lan Zhan should have to feel like he has to do everything himself,” Wei Wuxian replied.

Wei Fang smiled at him. “You’re sweet,” he said, “I don’t think I know any other alphas who would be willing to do inside chores. That’s definitely how you keep your marriage happy, make sure both of you are putting in effort. I’m sure Lan Zhan feels pressured to be traditional like me. If you make an effort to learn too I’m sure he would feel a lot better about it.”

“I want to look after him just as much as he wants to look after me. It should be a partnership, you know? My only hope is that he’s safe and happy and comfortable,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile.

“With an alpha like you I’m sure he’ll be perfectly fine,” Wei Fang said. He looked out towards the sheep field and saw the small figure of Lan Zhan sitting on the ground absolutely covered in puppies. Wei Fang could see his blinding smile from where he sat. “It’s a shame you don’t like dogs,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more excited than when he’s got puppies licking him. He _loves_ baby animals, doesn’t he?”

“I think he loves babies in general. He’s babysitting for the little girl this weekend, she’s not very old, and he’s absolutely incredible with her. It melts my heart every time,” Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

“Little girl?” Wei Fang asked. “He never mentioned babysitting before. How old is she?”

“Six months, give or take,” Wei Wuxian said. “You should see them together, it’s the cutest thing in the world.”

Wei Fang tilted his brows. “Oh that’s so sweet,” he said. “Babies are definitely the hardest in my opinion. If he can keep her entertained and clean then he’ll do just fine.”

Wei Wuxian grinned to himself as he thought about Lan Zhan and Hudie. “He does _really_ well with her and she loves him. It really is amazing.”

“Maybe if he can babysit her for a few years he’ll feel more comfortable,” Wei Fang said. “It’s easier when it’s someone else’s baby. Good practice.” He scratched the bunnies’ heads and said, “No more, you guys. You ate it all!”

Wei Wuxian chuckled as he watched the rabbits. He _did_ like rabbits a lot. He couldn’t wait to buy Lan Zhan a bunny of his own. “I hope so,” he said.

They chatted for a little while longer before Lan Zhan returned, his white robes stained with puppy paw prints.

“Would you like a change of clothes?” Wei Fang asked as he left the pen.

Lan Zhan seemed perfectly content with his dirty robes. He shook his head. “They are fine,” he said, looking into the rabbit pen. “How is Snowball doing?”

“Fat as ever,” Wei Fang said.

Lan Zhan bowed to him. “Thank you, Wei Xian sheng.”

“You tell your mama to down here sometime,” Wei Fang said. “It’s been too long since we talked.”

Lan Zhan nodded. “Okay,” he said.

“Thank you again. It was nice to talk,” Wei Wuxian said, bowing towards Wei Fang as well with a smile. He reached out and took Lan Zhan’s hand in his.

“Congratulations on your engagement,” Wei Fang said to Lan Zhan. “You’ve got yourself a good alpha here.” He gave Wei Wuxian a smile.

Lan Zhan blushed a little and nodded. He led Wei Wuxian around the house so they wouldn’t have to go through and disturb anyone.

“Let’s go to the city so I can buy some lace,” he said quietly.

"Oooh okay," Wei Wuxian said, his interest suddenly piqued by this proposition.

They stopped to get lunch when they got to the city, and Lan Zhan was stopped by multiple merchants who knew him and wanted to buy his magic. He went around and did his work, which was made a lot quicker with Wei Wuxian's help. He had made back the money he paid for the sauces and had some extra as well. He would have plenty for fabric.

He went to the big fabric shop and stopped just inside. There was a vast amount of fabric of every color and type, and it was all organized by color. Lan Zhan loved looking in his shop because it was so pretty. He went over to the white section first. "Are there any other colors you think I should use?" he asked.

"Keeping it true to your colour scheme, maybe a baby blue? Just for a little bit of colour. Mostly white though," Wei Wuxian said with a thoughtful hum.

Lan Zhan hummed. He had a lot of fabric at home already in those colors, but he needed to get a bit more white as well as the lace. He found the lace and spent a while feeling it under his hands. It was silk and exquisitely made. He picked up the whole box of it and carried it to the counter where the merchant looked at it with wide eyes.

"Making some new fancy clothes, Young Master Lan?" she asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. He emptied his money pouch on the counter and said, "You may bill the rest of the charge to the university as usual." She started counting the coins, and Lan Zhan turned around and chewed on his lip.

"One moment," he said. He went back into the rows of fabric, heading toward the black section.

Wei Wuxian watched him go, curious as to what he was picking up. Was he intending to get some kind of black lace? He would surely look a sight in that…

Lan Zhan spent another twenty minutes in the section, mentally mapping out what he wanted to make. He got an assortment of black and red fabrics, both silk and lace. He also got some gray silk, his mind running a million miles an hour. He had multiple projects to draw out later. He would have to work really hard to pay back his uncle for this.

The merchant wrapped the fabrics in paper and handed them over. "Good luck on your sewing, Young Master Lan," she said.

Lan Zhan nodded at her as he took them. "Thank you," he said.

"What is the black fabric for? You making yourself more than one?" Wei Wuxian asked as they left the shop. He _would_ love to see Lan Zhan in his colours again.

"I can if you want me to wear black," Lan Zhan said. "But I want to make you something too."

Wei Wuxian blinked owlishly. _For him?_ But it was all silk and lace? Just what was Lan Zhan planning to make? "For me?" he asked.

"Mm." Lan Zhan had a couple different things in mind, really. He would draw them out later and show them to him. "Let's get a carriage home."

"Okay," Wei Wuxian replied. He smiled and leaned over to kiss Lan Zhan's cheek. "Let's go."

Lan Zhan mapped out what he wanted to make in more detail on the ride back. It was late afternoon when they got back and Lan Zhan said, "I am going to help the professors. My window by the wall is open, you can go in anytime. I might not be back until later."

"Thank you. I love you," Wei Wuxian said cheerfully. He moved to kiss his lips briefly before meeting his eyes. "I'll see you later."

Lan Zhan nodded and touched his arm before he left to head up the stairs. Wei Wuxian had the honey and sauces, so he just put his fabric away and went back down to see who needed help preparing for their classes.


	38. Lan Zhan Sucks Cock For Once

After a few hours, Wei Wuxian headed up to Lan Zhan’s room. He kicked off his shoes and laid down on his bed. For a while, he just enjoyed breathing in his sweet scent. Nothing smelt better than Lan Zhan’s omega scent. He did a little snooping around the room and admired his plants before curling up for a nap on his bed again.

Lan Zhan was kept busy until dinner, and after dinner he continued helping until the eight-thirty bell rang. He made his way back to his room, feeling sleepy but not too tired.

He was quiet when he entered his room, and he got the sweet view of Wei Wuxian's sleeping face. He got to see it every morning, but it was fun to be surprised with it.

He silently went about undressing and sat in the bathtub with the water only partway full so he could wash up quickly. Then he stuck his head under the faucet and wet his hair so he could wash it. He hadn't washed his hair with warm water in a long while, and it felt unbelievably good.

When he was squeaky clean and moisturized, he put on a pair of panties and a plain white silk robe. He brushed some oil into his hair and squeezed out the rest of the water before peeking around the privacy screen to see if Wei Wuxian had woken up yet.

Wei Wuxian had stirred a little at the shuffling but he wasn’t fully awake. He’d rolled onto his back, one of Lan Zhan’s stuffed animals in his arms, a light croon slipping out.

It was absolutely adorable. Lan Zhan sat at his vanity and combed his hair slowly for a few minutes until the curfew bell rang. He set his comb down and went to the bed so he could lay down next to him sneakily. He lay on his stomach and propped his head up on his hand, just gazing at Wei Wuxian. He looked at the stuffed animal Wei Wuxian was holding; he didn't think he'd ever seen him do that before. He should definitely do it more often. And the crooning was heart-melting too.

The weight on the bed slowly made Wei Wuxian’s eyes open though. He blinked up at the ceiling and then turned his head to look at Lan Zhan. As soon as he noticed the stuffed animal and the crooning, he immediately stopped and tossed the toy to one side.

“Lan Zhan,” he said. He smiled away his embarrassment. “When did you get back?”

Lan Zhan couldn't help but smile a little. "Half an hour ago," he said. "You looked very sweet. Didn't want to disturb you."

“Just a little sleepy,” Wei Wuxian said. He leaned over to kiss Lan Zhan softly. Gods, he was so wonderful. “How was your day?”

"It was fine," Lan Zhan said. "The professors are mostly ready for the classes to start. What is your schedule this semester?"

“I’m very excited for advanced conjuration. It was one of the things I knew I’d miss if I’d gone away. I hope to make all kinds of toys for you,” Wei Wuxian said with a grin.

Lan Zhan tried to hide another smile. "You'll have to catch Wang Laoshi during his office hours," he said. "I'm sure he'll have extra readings for you. He's the best conjuration mage we could find in the area that could teach."

He hummed thoughtfully. "I've been thinking about attending classes again," he said. "I've already been to all of the healing ones. I don't want to pick up another specialty. I think I might take painting."

“Oh yeah? You’d be good. You draw so well,” Wei Wuxian said. He reached out to brush a lock of Lan Zhan’s hair behind his ear, eyes twinkling with fondness.

Lan Zhan sighed. "Not really," he said. "I should take a drawing class first. Where they have nude models." It sounded boring. But if he could do that then he could draw Wei Wuxian...

"I could pose in the nude for you," Wei Wuxian teased. He laughed and pressed another kiss to the side of Lan Zhan's lips. He was only half joking.

"You could but I would want a teacher to show me how to draw," Lan Zhan said. "I want to be good at whatever I do. I could take music magic." Even though he didn't want to learn a new specialty... he was already good at music so he had half of it down already.

"You work so hard, I'm sure you could do anything you put your mind to," Wei Wuxian said. He leaned his head back against the bed and took a deep breath, smiling to himself.

"I should take cooking," Lan Zhan said. "But I don't like being in that class. I tried to take it when I was younger but it felt too weird. Like I didn't belong there." Maybe it would be different now... he was getting married, after all.

Wei Wuxian glanced at him. "I meant to ask about that. What sort of home care classes does this place offer? I want to take some."

Lan Zhan blinked a few times. "You want to take them?" he asked. "No alphas take those classes. You would stick out."

That made Wei Wuxian laugh. "When has sticking out ever seemed like it'd be a problem for me?" he asked.

Lan Zhan huffed. "Sticking out isn't a good thing," he said. But clearly Wei Wuxian didn't care. "We have cooking, sewing, family finance, home etiquette, home management which involves cleaning and designing, child rearing, and gardening. I think we have building and agriculture classes too, but those are mainly taken by alphas and not considered home care. There is also a basic health class for caring for those who are sick and treating minor injuries without the use of magic. I don't know if all of those are going to be offered this semester."

He sighed. "I should probably take all of them except sewing, gardening and health," he said.

"Don't feel like you have to, only do it if you want to, but it could be fun if we took some of them together, you know?" Wei Wuxian suggested. Lan Zhan would no doubt find him insufferable in the classroom but it was worth it.

Lan Zhan pursed his lips. That might be fun. "Perhaps," he said. "We should go to Uncle tomorrow and ask what is available."

"Sounds good to me," Wei Wuxian replied. He leaned in to kiss Lan Zhan now, hoping that the conversation was over and they could move on to something a little more _saucy._

Lan Zhan leaned in as well, kissing back lovingly. He shifted his weight to one forearm so he could lift his hand to hold the side of Wei Wuxian’s face. “I like spending the day apart,” he said quietly against his lips. “It makes seeing you in the evening so much sweeter. Something to look forward to.”

"I suppose it'll be nice when we have our little farm and we do our separate things. Taking care of the farm, going to the local town, looking after the kids," Wei Wuxian said with a hum.

Lan Zhan gave a noncommittal noise. “I could run my flower shop during the day,” he said. The idea of staying home and taking care of children all the time wasn’t very appealing.

"I could teach the kids how to help on the farm. I'm sure they'll be excited to see you when you come home from the flower shop. Who knows, maybe some of them will be magically talented just like us and we can teach them our skills. You could teach one of them to take over the flower business when we're old," Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan pursed his lips. It was an interesting thought. He hadn’t really considered teaching children magic. It would make sense if both of them were strong mages, though. It would be strange if their children weren’t all magically capable. No Lan in the history of the college had been unable to use magic.

“If they don’t run away from home first,” he joked morbidly.

"Who could ever run away from your beautiful face?" Wei Wuxian cooed, grabbing Lan Zhan's cheeks. He leaned in and smothered him in big, wet kisses, making obnoxious kissing noises as he did.

“Ugh,” Lan Zhan pulled away and wiped the spit off his face. “You’re obnoxious.” He looked around. “Did you bring my snack?”

Wei Wuxian grinned. "Like I'd forget. In the bag over by the door. I'll go get it." With that, he leapt up off the bed and clambered to get his bag. He dragged it over to the bed and sat back down.

Lan Zhan hummed and pulled out each jar and set it on the bedside table. He loved how the honey looked in the firelight, so warm. He hadn’t had honey in a while; it was one of his favorite treats.

He got up and went to get a big towel and a smaller one, and a little spoon. He filled a bowl with hot water and brought it all back to the bed. He lay the towel down next to Wei Wuxian and said, “Sit on it. Don’t want my bed to get sticky.”

Wei Wuxian did as he was told, excitement thrumming through his veins. He sat down on the towel and started to undress while he was at it.

Lan Zhan propped up some pillows at the head of the bed so Wei Wuxian could recline there and give Lan Zhan room to lay down in front of him. He went to his vanity and took a ribbon so he could braid his hair. He had learned how to do a basic braid on his own hair after his trip to Yunmeng.

When Wei Wuxian was undressed and sitting at the head of the bed where he’d intended for him, he took the smaller towel and tucked it around his dick to create a barrier. He probably didn’t want honey _everywhere._ Then he took the jar of honey and unscrewed it.

He took a moment to just smell it, his eyes fluttering closed. It was fresh and so sweet... he was tempted to dip his finger in. He cast a small warming spell on it to heat it up a little bit and then handed it to Wei Wuxian, followed by the little spoon.

Wei Wuxian on the other hand, could not hold himself back from giving the honey a little taste. It was very sweet and fresh and he hummed with delight. He stroked his cock, just enough for him to be semi-hard in his palm, before he started carefully dribbling some of the honey down over his shaft. It was a strange feeling but not a bad one.

Lan Zhan settled down between Wei Wuxian’s legs, lifting himself up on his elbows. He wasn’t too excited about this, but it was definitely made better by the honey. He decided to use his left hand to hold it while he worked, and gingerly took the shaft between his middle finger and thumb. He started at the bottom, licking up the honey that was slowly sliding down towards the towel at the base. He glanced up at Wei Wuxian while he licked his lips.

Wei Wuxian's breath hitched. He looked back down at Lan Zhan with lidded eyes. "Yes..." he whispered.

Lan Zhan looked back down and licked again, this time going all the way up and collecting as much as he could. He looked back up at Wei Wuxian again while he worked the honey in his mouth so he could swallow it. “Tastes good,” he said.

This was the best day of his life. Wei Wuxian watched Lan Zhan with rapt attention, his lips parted. He carefully laced one hand through his hair.

When Lan Zhan’s mouth was clear, he went back to his job. He studied it for a moment before he licked a few more times at the bottom and planted his lips there to suck on it. He did this for a few minutes, sucking as much as he could off of the shaft. Then he pulled away and got the bowl of hot water so he could swish it around his mouth and dissolve the remaining honey there.

"You're doing so well, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian breathed. He wanted those hot lips back on his cock again. It was almost too much. He was going to savour this moment forever.

Lan Zhan wiped the spoon off and took the jar of pear sauce. He smelled it deeply and then spooned a little bit on Wei Wuxian’s tip. He set the jar and spoon down and settled back down, this time taking the head into his mouth and sucking.

_Oh Gods that was good._ Wei Wuxian let out a long moan and pulled a little on Lan Zhan's hair. "Fuck," he rasped.

Lan Zhan liked that reaction. He hummed pleasantly and pulled away so he could swallow everything in his mouth, then he went back to suckle some more. He could taste the precum a little bit, but it wasn’t too bad when he had honey and pear to cover it up.

Wei Wuxian couldn't help bucking up his hips to sink deeper into that wonderful, wet heat. He moaned a little louder when Lan Zhan went back to sucking.

Lan Zhan allowed it. He sucked until his mouth stung, then he pulled away to get some more of the pear sauce. It was nice and thick and it didn’t drip too much. He poured some more on the tip and let some of it fall on the shaft, then he settled back down and sucked again, taking a little more this time.

"You feel so good like this," Wei Wuxian moaned. He took a deep breath, his cock twitching against Lan Zhan's tongue. "It's a shame you don't e-enjoy it more because it feels _amazing_. You're so good at it."

Lan Zhan purred from the praise. He was always extra happy when eating desserts, and apparently this was no different. It was like the sugar did something to his mind, some kind of drug. He bobbed his head slowly, not taking more than a couple inches.

Wei Wuxian tried to push in a little deeper. He wanted to feel more of him, more of his mouth. "Gods, it won't take me much longer to cum like this," he breathed.

Lan Zhan let him, though he did keep his fingers where they were. He probably wouldn’t be able to take much more without gagging. He pulled off all the way and smacked his lips, then reached for the honey again. He dropped a line from the tip to a few inches down the shaft and then settled down to suck on the head again.

"Do you want me to warn you before I'm going to cum?" Wei Wuxian asked in a breathy voice.

Lan Zhan considered it. He didn’t really want cum in his mouth, but he also didn’t want to use his hand since it was so sticky. It wouldn’t be _too_ bad if he had honey to sweeten the taste... he shook his head lightly and took a little more in.

That surprised Wei Wuxian but he didn't complain. He groaned again as Lan Zhan took more of his cock into his mouth. It didn't take much longer before he climaxed, spilling hot into his mouth.

Lan Zhan kept sucking and tried not to gag as the semen slid back towards his throat. He eventually had to pull away and swallow, and he reached for the water so he could swish some around. Not caring that Wei Wuxian was still sensitive, he went back and started sucking again, determined to get it as clean as he could.

Wei Wuxian let out a whimper when he felt Lan Zhan's lips on his cock again. This was a lot all at once. "Lan Zhan," he whined.

Lan Zhan did his best to clean Wei Wuxian off at the tip, digging his tongue at the foreskin a little and rubbing it over the top. Then he moved to suck on the shaft again. He did like using his mouth on Wei Wuxian when it was actually pleasant to do so. He couldn't wait to see if he could figure out how to feel through those tentacles...

"Oh Gods," Wei Wuxian mumbled, turning his head to the side and pressing his face against the pillow he was leaning again.

When Lan Zhan was satisfied he pulled away and licked his lips. He took the washcloth and wet it in the warm water, then gently rubbed the rest of the stickiness off as best he could.

“Wasn’t too bad,” he said.

"Thank you," Wei Wuxian said, slightly muffled by the pillow. He meant it too. Perhaps it was made even better because Lan Zhan would usually refuse to do such a thing.

Lan Zhan hummed and put the jars all on the bedside table and threw the small towel and washcloth on the ground. "Do your homework," he said. "I want to see if you can make those tentacles better. I would rather suck on those."

"I will. I'll put in my all just for you," Wei Wuxian said with a lazy smile. He was well satisfied, that was for sure.

Lan Zhan hummed. "Are you going to sleep?" he asked. He wasn't tired yet, since his sleep schedule had been messed up, but he did want to doodle some things in bed.

"I'm tired but not sleepy," Wei Wuxian replied. He rolled onto his side and snuggled up into Lan Zhan's sheets. "What about you?"

Lan Zhan got up and took the towels to the bath area. "Opposite," he said. He grabbed a notebook and a pencil on his way back to the bed and set it down before unbraiding his hair. He climbed into bed and reclined against the pillows and turned to a new page. "Have you ever worn a hanfu before?" he asked.

"No. I've never really had to engage with anything fancy... not really my style. Why do you ask?" Wei Wuxian asked, watching Lan Zhan.

"I was thinking I could make you one for our wedding if you wanted," Lan Zhan said. He started to doodle out something like that he was thinking of, with long, deep sleeves and many layers. "I think you would look beautiful."

_Our wedding._ Wei Wuxian's heart hammered in his chest. Of course, he had proposed to Lan Zhan and he very much wanted to marry him, but hearing him say _our wedding_ just reminded him how real this was.

"I... would like that," he said.

Lan Zhan looked at him and could see the emotion in his eyes. His own softened and he leaned closer to him. "I'm going to get your measurements tomorrow," he said. "Before I make that I want to make you something else."

"Something else? What is it?" Wei Wuxian said. He smiled wide and looked at Lan Zhan fondly.

"Something pretty," Lan Zhan said. He looked over Wei Wuxian's body for a moment and said thoughtfully, "Lingerie for omegas accents a small waist and somewhat larger hips. I want to make something that would work with your body. I like your arms and chest."

"Lingerie? F-For me?" Wei Wuxian asked. He laughed nervously. "Are you sure? I don't think I'd suit that kind of thing. Wouldn't I look kind of ridiculous?"

Lan Zhan shook his head. "My point is that I want to make something that would look good," he said. "If I put you in my blue dress you would look weird because your upper body is so much bulkier than mine. You have a nice figure. Small waist and hips. Your clothes usually do not hug your body. I could make normal clothes too."

He was thinking hard, now. He put his pencil to his lip. "I could make a vest that hugs your waist," he said, "to be worn over a long-sleeved shirt or by itself if we are alone. I am not as interested in seeing skin as I am in seeing your shape."

That only made Wei Wuxian blush, his cheeks burning red. How could Lan Zhan come out with something like that? "Jeez Lan Zhan! That's so embarrassing to say!" he said.

Lan Zhan blinked a few times and tilted his head, not understanding. "That I want to see your shape?" he asked. "Not embarrassing. It's innocent." He turned back to his notebook and started to doodle another drawing. It wasn't very good, but he was able to sort of depict a torso that looked kind of like Wei Wuxian, and he drew a vest on it.

"So you can ogle me! In public places! You really have no shame," Wei Wuxian said. He hid his face in his hands to save his embarrassment.

Lan Zhan huffed. "I wear robes that hug my body all the time," he said. "Alphas should start wearing tighter clothes. It would be a public service." Okay, maybe he was joking a little now.

"You really want all the omega girls in all the home care classes to be ogling me all the time?" Wei Wuxian teased right back. He peeked out from between his fingers.

"Perhaps I do," Lan Zhan said. He thought about all the girls in Su Ming's room squealing every time he talked about Wei Wuxian. "They'll ogle you no matter what you wear."

Wei Wuxian smirked and pulled his hands away from his face. "That doesn't bother you at all? All those omega girls looking at me, admiring how amazing and charming I am?"

"I would not have told them all the things that I did if I would be bothered by it," Lan Zhan said confidently. "I am the highest ranking omega among the students. None of them will cross me."

"You're a better man than me," Wei Wuxian replied. He pushed himself up and moved to cup Lan Zhan's cheeks so he could kiss over his face.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and tolerated it. "Alpha women might not respect me that much though," he said. "They might like your new outfit too."

"Well if you're going to show off my figure like that, who wouldn't want to fuck me? Gender aside, I bet even alpha men would want to fuck me," Wei Wuxian joked with a laugh. He stroked Lan Zhan's cheek.

Lan Zhan hummed. "I'm sure many already do," he said. "You have a pretty face. You could have an omega scent and I would only be somewhat surprised."

"You'd probably like that though wouldn't you? Seeing me pinned down and fucked by an alpha man?" Wei Wuxian asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

Lan Zhan blinked his eyes open and gave Wei Wuxian a once-over. “It depends on the alpha,” he said. “I would want to be in charge. Make it a show for me.”

"Of course. Though you'd like nothing more than to be the alpha, huh? Inhabit the body of one, big and strong, knot me until I cry?" Wei Wuxian continued. He grabbed Lan Zhan's bottom lip between his teeth and tugged.

Lan Zhan smiled a little, a tweak of his lips. “Maybe for a week,” he said. “I like fighting you but it would be nice to be able to win more easily.” He liked his body the way it was, but having a vacation would be fun.

"I don't know, maybe I'd still be able to take you down," Wei Wuxian said. His hand skimmed down Lan Zhan's side. "Wouldn't that be interesting? I'd still knot you as an alpha, still pin you down and fuck you senseless."

Lan Zhan huffed. “No,” he said. “I work out more than you do. I just don’t build muscle as easily. If I was an alpha I would be bigger and stronger.”

"If I were an omega, you wouldn't dare try and fight me," Wei Wuxian hummed. "You couldn't hurt little old me, can't you just imagine how pretty and cute I would be if I was an omega?"

Lan Zhan bit his lip. Wei Wuxian would be adorable as an omega. "I would dress you up," he said. "We could share clothes."

Wei Wuxian squeezed Lan Zhan's hip and ran his eyes up and down his body. "And that's all, is it? You just want to dress me up like a doll?"

Lan Zhan nodded. "Put makeup on you," he said, "design lingerie for you. Maybe a dress like my blue one. Practice painting you."

"Sounds like you just want a pretty little thing to play with," Wei Wuxian said with a little pout. He wondered just how different his life would be had he been born an omega.

“Perhaps I do,” Lan Zhan said. He did intend to dress Wei Wuxian up anyway, after all. “I would still have sex with you. But you know that already.”

That piqued Wei Wuxian's interest again. He let out a thoughtful hum and leaned a little closer to Lan Zhan's face. "You'd like my cute little pussy, wouldn't you?"

Lan Zhan nodded, feeling his ears redden. “You’re okay with that, right?” he asked. He _knew_ he was, but sometimes he got self-conscious about it. Omega men having sex with each other was sort of seen as gross, or weird at best. Wei Wuxian wasn’t like that, though.

"Of course. You think I'd love you any different if I was an omega? Or if you were an alpha? I'd love you all the same and we'd have just as much freaky sex," Wei Wuxian replied with a laugh.

Lan Zhan smiled a little and turned his head to hide it, tucking it into Wei Wuxian’s neck. “My family would throw a fit,” he said. “Maybe yours would too.”

"Probably. I'm pretty sure all Auntie Yu cares about is whether or not I have kids or my marriage has political weight," Wei Wuxian said. He stroked Lan Zhan's hair. "If none of those, I might as well not be her son."

Lan Zhan huffed out a quiet laugh. “If you were an omega we could both be pregnant,” he said.

"That would be a sight, wouldn't it?" Wei Wuxian laughed. "Me, pregnant? Would you rather I carry the baby if it were out of the two of us?"

Lan Zhan hummed and considered. “If we had babies I would like to have one of them. But I like the idea of impregnating you.”

"I'm sure you'd say so much filth about filling me up with your babies, huh? I know you've got a dirty mouth on you," Wei Wuxian replied.

“Not like you,” Lan Zhan said. “You would talk too much for me to say anything.”

That made Wei Wuxian pout. "You know you like it when I talk a lot."

Lan Zhan turned back to his drawings. “Mm,” he agreed. “You know the things I enjoy hearing.”

"What are you drawing?" Wei Wuxian asked, leaning over to see the paper that Lan Zhan was drawing on.

“Your wedding clothes,” Lan Zhan said. He had the outline of the robes already with the deep sleeves, and now he was fiddling with possible designs to stitch onto it. “What kind of patterns would you like on it?”

Wei Wuxian let out a thoughtful hum. "I don't know, something cool. Like... flames or something."

Flames... Lan Zhan tapped his pencil to his mouth while he thought of how to make that look good. He eventually doodled something that looked like flames or waves along the edge of the wide sleeves and along the bottom. “Like this?”

"Yes! Ahhh, Lan Zhan, you're such a good artist," Wei Wuxian said. He grinned as he looked down at what Lan Zhan had drawn.

“Stop,” Lan Zhan complained. He really wasn’t. He would have to spend a long time making the pattern into something workable. He put the notebook and pencil down on the bedside table and put out the lights, then turned on his side to snuggle up to Wei Wuxian.

"I'm just telling the truth," Wei Wuxian said. He wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan and cuddled him close.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and sighed. There was no arguing with him. “See you tomorrow,” he whispered.

Wei Wuxian kissed Lan Zhan's cheek and nuzzled against him. "Goodnight." With that, he closed his eyes and relaxed until he fell into a deep slumber.


	39. Babysitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Savor the adorableness while it lasts. The honeymoon period must end eventually...

Lan Zhan woke up with the morning bell, and he forced himself to sit up out of Wei Wuxian’s warm arms. It was a school day, no sleeping in anymore. He turned and put a hand on Wei Wuxian’s cheek.

“Wake up,” he said. “You need to leave and come in through the gates.”

Wei Wuxian could only grumble. He'd fallen asleep naked, wrapped up in Lan Zhan's arms, and was delightfully warm. He didn't want to get up. "Do I have toooo," he whined.

“Yes,” Lan Zhan said. “You need to come in before people see. Go to your room and get dressed, then eat breakfast quickly. Meet me outside the dining hall at six. We can ask about non-magic classes together.”

"Okay, fine, but come give me a big kiss first," Wei Wuxian said with a huff. He reached up and made grabby hands towards Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan leaned down to kiss him, then gave him another kiss on his neck. "Go," he said as he moved to stand up and stretch. It was going to be a busy day.

Wei Wuxian smiled and then shuffled to get out of the bed. He picked up his abandoned clothes from last night and hurried to put them on. Once they were, he waved goodbye to Lan Zhan (and blew him a kiss) then escaped through the window.

Lan Zhan got dressed quickly and made his way to the main building with some of the more early risers before the breakfast bell rang. He helped the staff finish up the meal and bring it to the dining table in the residential area, then he waited for the rest of the family to join them.

As soon as he saw his uncle, he stood up and bowed. "Uncle, do you have any time after breakfast?"

Lan Qiren sat down at the table before he answered. "For what?"

"Wei Wuxian and I are interested in taking non-magic classes this semester."

Lan Qiren raised an eyebrow. "I can squeeze some time in," he said.

As soon as breakfast was finished, Lan Zhan sped over to the main dining hall and poked his head inside to look for Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian had never eaten his breakfast so fast. As soon as it hit six, he waited for Lan Zhan. He saw his head pop around and he grinned, waving and running over to him. "Lan Zhan," he said.

Lan Zhan grabbed his hand and walked as fast as he properly could to Lan Qiren's office. His uncle was at his desk with a large book opened when they got there. "Do you have any classes in mind?" Lan Qiren asked without greeting.

"I want to take drawing," Lan Zhan said. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"I'd like to take some home care classes," Wei Wuxian said. He bowed respectfully before Lan Qiren before taking a seat on a chair beside Lan Zhan.

That made Lan Qiren look up. He blinked a few times at Wei Wuxian. "Home care," he repeated.

"Me as well," Lan Zhan said quickly.

Lan Qiren turned a concerned look to him. His family had been pressuring him to take these classes or at least learn from his mother since he was a teenager. The fact that he was suddenly changing his tune was probably a bit strange.

Lan Qiren looked back at his book and turned a few pages, then said, "We have cooking, sewing, home management, child rearing, construction and agriculture this semester." He glanced up at Wei Wuxian when he said the last two.

"I think home management, child rearing, and construction would be best for me," Wei Wuxian said. He glanced over at Lan Zhan and smiled.

Lan Qiren looked somewhat uncomfortable. He turned a stern eye to Lan Zhan. "You _promise_ me that you're not pregnant?" he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. "I promise," he said.

Lan Qiren took a deep breath and took out another large book and flipped to the end. He looked for a moment and then said, "Wei Wuxian, you have room in your schedule for all three, however you are taking advanced magic courses. These require considerable study time outside of class. You should expect to spend two hours studying per one hour in class. These non-magic classes are not easy grades, and they also have homework. Construction requires off-campus participation as well, since every semester it is offered the class builds something in the nearby town or city on weekends. If you are hoping to have time to spend with my nephew, you might want to rethink adding to your course load."

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath. "It's okay. I have time. Maybe I'll just take home management this semester then? Take things one step at a time so I make sure I can put all the effort in to my other classes as well."

Lan Qiren nodded, seeming satisfied at that. "Home management will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at eight, right after your magic literature class." He wrote something down in the book and then glanced at Lan Zhan. "You realize if I enroll you in a course you must take it to its completion, correct?" he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. "If I go to the farm to work I will self-study under the professors' guidance," he said.

Lan Qiren flipped through the second book. "I will put you in cooking, home management, child rearing and drawing," he said. "It has been a while since you have attended classes, but I need not remind you that you are a model student. I expect perfect behavior and grades."

Lan Zhan nodded again. "I understand," he said. "Thank you, Uncle."

Lan Qiren took out some class registration slips and filled them out, then handed them to Lan Zhan. "Run these by the professors so they know to add you to their lists." Lan Zhan took the papers, then stood up and bowed.

"It's almost six-thirty," Lan Qiren said. "Do not be late to your first class."

Wei Wuxian quickly got up as well and bowed to Lan Qiren again. "Thank you."

It was nice to take classes again, though there was a reason Lan Zhan hadn't done so in a while, especially those with only omegas. He was the highest ranking one in the student body, so eyes were constantly on him. He sat in the very front so he didn't have to pay attention to anything except the professors.

Home management was awkward, since Wei Wuxian was also in the class and the omegas all kept looking at Lan Zhan nervously. He wanted to tell them, _go ahead and stare at him, flirt, I don't care. Just let me listen to the lecture and leave._

He enjoyed his drawing class the most. It was a mixture of students, so he felt he could blend in more easily. He spent the whole two hour studio zoned in, and his fruit bowl drawing turned out pretty nice.

Between classes he was in the library reading the class materials and fleshing out his notes, then he spent a few hours every day in the greenhouse working, then he retreated to his room to work on his own research. He had forgotten what it was like to be truly _busy._ He was so mentally spent at the end of each day that he barely had the energy to initiate sex.

When Saturday morning came around, Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian got a carriage to the city. Lan Zhan had a plan for the day. "You can stay for an hour," he told Wei Wuxian, "but then I want you to go study and leave me with Hudie."

Wei Wuxian huffed. He knew it was important for him to be on top of his work, especially now that he was taking an extra class, but he was already missing spending time with Lan Zhan compared to how they had been when they were in Yunmeng together. "Fine," he whined. "So mean Lan Zhan. Can't I have a little fun? Well... I'm not going anywhere when you're with her for the whole hour, got it?"

"Mm." Lan Zhan paid the carriage driver and stepped out onto the street. Song Hua's new home was nearby. "You can come back after dinner," he said. "And bring me some."

"So demanding," Wei Wuxian sighed. He grabbed Lan Zhan's hand once they were both out on the street and interlinked their fingers together.

"You can stay tomorrow," Lan Zhan said.

Song Hua was already waiting for them when they knocked. She had Hudie in her arms, and another servant had a bag to hand over as well. Lan Zhan took her eagerly and Song Hua helped him secure her to the front of his body with a cloth wrap. She rested her little face on his sternum and he wanted to cry.

"All of her food is in the bag," Song Hua said. "She's got a couple of toys too, they're in there. Rags and changes of clothes. Everything you'll need."

"My mother gave me things as well," Lan Zhan said. "She will be well taken care of."

"Thank you so much," Song Hua said. "I know she'll love spending time with you."

Lan Zhan nodded. "We'll be back tomorrow evening."

"Lan Zhan has been buzzing about this all week. Thank you for the opportunity and for trusting us! We are so happy still to see you and Hudie well," Wei Wuxian said with a polite smile to Song Hua.

Song Hua laughed and patted his cheek teasingly. "You can stop thanking me, you know," she said. "You know I owe you two everything. I need to get back to work now. You kids have fun."

Lan Zhan bowed as much as he could with Hudie strapped to him. When the door was closed, he handed the bag to Wei Wuxian so he could use both arms to support Hudie's bottom. He wasn't entirely sure this would be _fun_ since he had a suspicion that Hudie would throw a fit from being away from her mother and not having milk to drink. But he would deal with it.

"How is advanced conjuration?" he asked as they walked back to find a carriage to take back to campus. They hadn't actually had a lot of time to just talk, since Lan Zhan had been out of sorts after long days of studying and he had spent the ride that morning dozing.

"Good. I'm making progress. I've been trying to work on some of my own things too, for you obviously," Wei Wuxian said with a grin.

Lan Zhan shot him a look. He pat Hudie’s back as he walked. “Have you asked Wang Laoshi about it?” he asked.

"I've spoken to him briefly. I have some ideas on how I can get things to work," Wei Wuxian said. "But I'm not telling you any more. It'll ruin the surprise."

Lan Zhan gave him another look, this one annoyed. “Fine,” he said.

When they got a carriage and sat down, Hudie got fussy. Lan Zhan pat her back and tickled his fingers over her short hair like he knew she liked until she calmed down again. He crooned, loud and happy. She was so warm against his chest and so soft like a stuffed animal. The vibrations and croon scent seemed to relax her even more, since she fell asleep not long after.

Wei Wuxian watched fondly as Hudie fell back asleep. He knew there would be a long night ahead of Lan Zhan with a baby, he'd heard that it wasn't easy and for good reason.

Hudie slept for the rest of the ride until Lan Zhan got off the carriage. She didn’t like being awake so early, apparently. She started fussing and Lan Zhan bounced her and crooned while he walked up the stairs. He pulled Wei Wuxian along with him, knowing they were getting stared at. It was morning, so having Wei Wuxian in his room wasn’t a big deal, especially since they were babysitting.

Wei Wuxian paid no mind to anybody else. He followed Lan Zhan up to his room, humming a tune as he walked. How long would it take for Lan Zhan to realise that taking care of Hudie wasn't all fun and games? This would be a real test of whether kids were something he wanted. Wei Wuxian needed an answer.

Once they got to the room, Lan Zhan took Hudie to the center where he had laid out all of the toys his mother had given him. He sat down with her and unwrapped her from the baby wrap, then sat her down. She was already sitting up well, only wobbling a little bit. The new environment seemed to distract her from her slightly grumpy mood and she looked around at the neatly stacked toys. There were cups, blocks, wooden and cloth dolls, small stuffed animals, a toy wagon on a string, and a hand mirror. There was also a board that had large holes of different shapes, and corresponding blocks that matched. Lan Zhan was curious about what she would go for first, if anything.

It was rare that Wei Wuxian got to spend much time with Hudie, usually Lan Zhan hogged all of her attention. But that was endearing in a lot of ways and Wei Wuxian liked to watch them together. He crouched down beside Hudie and assisted her as she started to touch and pick up some of the toys and objects, unable to stop himself from crooning a little as he did.

"That's a pretty doll, isn't it?" he cooed as Hudie fiddled with one of the cloth dolls. She made a small noise in response. Wei Wuxian smiled. "Almost as pretty as Lan-gege."

Hudie seemed to recognise the word and her big eyes turned towards Lan Zhan. She let out a giggle.

"Yes, see, I know you'd agree," Wei Wuxian said, ruffling her hair lightly.

Lan Zhan blinked in surprise. She knew his name? Maybe it was a coincidence. He couldn't help but smile a little in his surprise. He was feeling a load of emotions under the surface from watching Wei Wuxian croon and play with her. It was so gentle...

"She is a smart baby," he said. Sometimes in the past, Hudie's babbling would come closer and closer to words she heard from the people around her. He recalled in his child rearing class that babies usually don't start talking until they were a year old... but maybe that was because people didn't work closely with them to teach them. He told Wei Wuxian this.

"Shi Qianmu has shown me how she trains her dogs," he continued. "They know the names of certain people and animals, and they know commands. She teaches them by saying it slowly and many times, any time their attention is on the subject. I wonder if the same applies to babies."

"Probably," Wei Wuxian replied. He helped Hudie clamber into his lap as she continued to fiddle with and play with the cloth doll.

Lan Zhan pulled up his knee and rested his cheek on it. He had never seen Wei Wuxian interact this closely with Hudie. It was... nice. He thought about having a baby of his own; would Wei Wuxian enjoy playing with them too? Probably even more-so. Maybe having one good parent would be enough. Wei Wuxian would be a good father, Lan Zhan was sure of that.

He was quiet while he watched Wei Wuxian entertain the baby. He was good at it, especially with his conjuration tricks. Lan Zhan wished he could have a painting of the moment Wei Wuxian created a little sparkling light show in the air, the way Hudie's eyes widened and her mouth slacked, completely enraptured. Lan Zhan actually got a little emotional then, and he fought against the urge to cry. It was so sweet and he felt grateful for the opportunity to have Hudie for this time, to give her experiences she wouldn't be able to have while being carried around by servants on duty.

When the bell rang at the hour, Lan Zhan sat up and looked at Wei Wuxian pointedly. He wasn't totally looking forward to having her all to himself, but it was a little experiment to see how much he could handle on his own. Also, he wanted Wei Wuxian to do well in his studies. He knew his uncle was paying close attention to both of them now.

"But Lan Zhaaaan look how she's cuddled up in my arms! What kind of monster must I be to let her go now?" Wei Wuxian whined.

"You can deal with her later," Lan Zhan said. He reached out his hands and looked at him. "You need to do your work."

Wei Wuxian huffed but he knew how important this was to Lan Zhan for a myriad of reasons. He reluctantly parted with Hudie, depositing her into Lan Zhan's arms and standing up.

Hudie wasn't happy about being handed over when she was all comfy. Lan Zhan crooned and sat her up in his lap. "Make me proud," he said, only half joking.

"Always," Wei Wuxian replied. He leaned down to kiss Lan Zhan gently on the lips before smiling. It was hard to leave him, especially with a baby in his arms, but he pulled himself away.

The day went by slowly. Lan Zhan spent most of it in that spot, laying on the ground and playing with Hudie. He tried to teach her the names of the different toys by repeating them over and over, and he wasn’t sure if she was catching on or not. But he supposed it didn’t hurt to do it anyway.

He got out the stack of baby books his mother had made for him and his brother. They were made out of painted wood sheets, held together by wooden rings. He sat each one in front of her and slowly read the words on each page, then turned to the next when she was done pointing at everything. She babbled at him, and sometimes it sounded like she was trying to copy his words.

She stayed awake all afternoon and through dinnertime. Lan Zhan had tried to see if she would sleep during the day but she was too high strung. He had to take her to the bathroom with him which proved a challenge, as did changing her rags. He wrinkled his nose while he washed the rags in the sink and then let them soak in vinegar for a bit and washed them again. Before dinner he gave her a bath, then after feeding her he set himself up in his nest with pillows and stuffed animals all around him.

He lay back against the pillows and put her on his chest. She was fussy and tired, her little eyes drooping, so he crooned and pat her back and hummed some songs until she stopped crying and fell asleep. Sitting in his nest with nothing to do was boring, and he was also tired, so he closed his eyes and dozed as well.

Wei Wuxian's day had equally dragged. He dedicated a fair bit of time to studying and completing any outstanding homework tasks. He took a few breaks to eat and he left his room a few times to socialise with Jiang Wanyin and some of the other alpha boys on his floor.

By the time evening came, Wei Wuxian happily put away his things and headed out to climb up to Lan Zhan's room. He let himself in through the window and took off his shoes. A smile crossed his face when he saw Lan Zhan dozing in his nest with Hudie resting on top of him. He let himself in the nest and curled up against Lan Zhan's side, nuzzling against the crook of his neck.

Lan Zhan woke up when he felt Wei Wuxian climb into his nest. He didn't move, other than to tilt his head a bit to nuzzle back subtly in greeting. Hudie was fast asleep still, and he wasn't going to purposefully wake her up.

Quietly he whispered, "Did you bring me dinner?" He hadn't reminded Wei Wuxian to do so before he left, so he considered what he would get if he went to get some himself.

"Have you not eaten? There's some snacks in my bag," Wei Wuxian replied in an equally quiet voice. He glanced towards Hudie, making sure he wasn't waking her as he dragged his bag over and opened it.

"Has the eight-thirty bell rung yet?" Lan Zhan whispered. "I will go get something from the kitchen if not." He peeked into the bag even so, curious about what he had.

"Not yet. I can go grab you something, Hudie is fast asleep on you, best not to wake her," Wei Wuxian said softly. He leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I'll go. Feel free to take anything out the bag." He shuffled to move out of the nest.

Lan Zhan smiled at him. Wei Wuxian was so sweet... truly a gentleman. He looked into the bag and pulled out some sweetened dried fruit. It wasn't the most nutritious thing he could have picked, but he would eat real food momentarily.

Wei Wuxian hummed to himself as he left and walked down to the kitchen to help himself to a serving of the meal that night. There were a few skeptical looks his way, knowing ones that he had already eaten tonight, but he cast them aside and headed back up to Lan Zhan's room.

"Ta-daa!" he whispered as he presented Lan Zhan with the steaming dish.

Lan Zhan had to fight not to sit up eagerly. He had skipped lunch too, though he'd snacked on a lot of fruits and some dried meat he had stashed away. He used one hand to eat with the spoon, careful not to make any noise. Hudie still slept soundly. She really had been worn out. "Thank you, baby," he whispered when he was finished. He didn't want to lean over to kiss him so he rubbed his hand affectionately instead.

"I can look after my mate," Wei Wuxian whispered back with a fondness twinkling in his eyes.

Lan Zhan could only gaze just as fondly back at him. He was happy to see him after the day he'd had. It wasn't _bad,_ but tiring in a way he wasn't used to.

Something must have woken Hudie up then, since she started to stir and made a grumpy noise. Lan Zhan crooned, hoping to placate her. She turned her head and took in the sight of Wei Wuxian, blinking owlishly at him.

"Hi sweetie," Wei Wuxian cooed softly. He smiled at Hudie and gently caressed her head, then let out a croon.

The combined croons seemed to be enough to keep her calm. She looked at Wei Wuxian some more and then plopped her head back on Lan Zhan's chest. It was so cute, Lan Zhan's croon swelled a little. He sat up and said, "Will you take her?"

Wei Wuxian nodded. He carefully took Hudie from Lan Zhan's arms and laid back in the best, laying Hudie on his chest.

Now free, Lan Zhan crawled out of the nest and went to get ready for bed. He really wanted to sit in some hot water for a bit, so he drew himself a bath and took a book over to read while he did. He was feeling kind of raw and sensitive, though that was normal for the weeks leading up to a heat. He was glad he had a lot of patience, since Hudie had definitely tested that earlier.

Wei Wuxian was content to just lay there with Hudie, rubbing her back as she cuddled up to him. He kept crooning to keep her settled. It made him feel all warm inside and he could only imagine how those feelings would intensify when he had kids of his own.

Lan Zhan stayed in the bath for a while, until the water went cold and his fingers wrinkled. He got out and put on just a robe and some underwear like usual, then returned to the nest feeling clean and fresh. "What did you get done today?" he asked, his voice low and smooth.

"I got through all my homework and did a bit of studying... I have some ideas about how I might be able to connect me to my conjuration but... I need to work on better control first," Wei Wuxian answered.

Lan Zhan hummed, impressed. "Care to explain?" he asked tentatively. He knew Wei Wuxian had told him it had to be a surprise, but he was curious...

"Without going into too much detail, conjuration magic is... separate to my being. I use my energy to summon it, a release, but in order for to feel with it, I would have to make my energy flow inwards as well as outwards. It's possible but I don't think it's been effectively done," Wei Wuxian said. "Of course, it would be revolutionary magic if I can do it. Imagine people who have lost limbs temporarily being able to regain feeling in a prosthetic. But of course, it would also still be subject to pain and the likes."

Lan Zhan leaned forward, fascinated. He wondered if it was related at all to the things Wang Laoshi had done. He hadn't really paid much attention when Wang Laoshi was talking about it before... all he remembered was him complaining about how it was so hard to hear or see things from a conjured specter's point of view. Maybe it was something completely different.

"Does it require any other type of magic? Or just conjuration?"

"No, it won't encompass any other school of magic, just extremely good control over your energy flow," Wei Wuxian said. "In theory, at least."

Lan Zhan was impressed and excited. "You should make copies of your notes," he said. "You can publish them in the library here, and then perhaps you and Wang Laoshi could research together."

"How are you going to feel if people ask me to explain why I wanted to research it and I have to tell them it was to have very kinky sex with my mate?" Wei Wuxian said with a chuckle.

Lan Zhan looked away and huffed quietly. "You can come up with another reason," he said. He made himself not go down that train of thought. Not while he was babysitting.

"She wasn't too bad today," he said, changing the topic. "I am going to teach her things."

"You should enjoy this time while you have it. She'll be all big before you know it," Wei Wuxian replied. He rubbed Hudie's back affectionately.

"Mm." Lan Zhan tilted his head. Hudie was very calm at the moment. "She is a good baby. She'll become a problem once she learns how to argue."

"Come over here and cuddle then. You want Lan-gege to cuddle with us, don't you Hudie?" Wei Wuxian cooed. Hudie made a small noise. Wei Wuxian chuckled. "See?"

Lan Zhan suppressed a smile and he scooted over to lean against Wei Wuxian. Hudie leaned toward him with her whole body and he huffed out a laugh as he pulled her into his arms. "I think she likes it in the nest," he said.

"Makes sense. It's soft and full of cute things," Wei Wuxian said. He looked over at Lan Zhan and Hudie fondly.

“Hm.” Lan Zhan swirled his fingers through her hair. “I don’t know how she will take the crib. She might not sleep well. I scented the blankets in it.”

"We'll just have to see," Wei Wuxian replied. He reached over to stroke Hudie's hair again softly.

As it turned out, Hudie didn’t sleep through the night. Lan Zhan played with her some more until she was tired again and then he put her in her crib to sleep. He immediately went to sleep himself, knowing that he needed to take advantage of her slumber. He wasn’t sure what time it was when she woke up crying, but he couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours. He got up and changed her rags and walked around with her until she fell asleep again. He had to do this once more before morning.

The next day was a lot better than the first. Wei Wuxian took charge of the baby and played with her while Lan Zhan slept in late into the morning.

Lan Zhan went to sit with them a few times, and he showed Wei Wuxian how to feed her and change her rags. The rest of the time he spent working on the papers he would have to write that semester. For his child rearing class he had to write a paper about each stage of childhood, and he went ahead and started working on infancy.


	40. Negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea what to name this chapter 😩

“Your heat is in a few weeks, isn’t it?”

Lan Zhan paused. He was helping his mother fill vials for her healing class, and it had been peaceful so far. There was something about Lan Xia’s tone that bothered him, put him on edge. “Yes,” he said hesitantly.

Lan Xia gave him a look that was probably meant to be innocent, but Lan Zhan knew she was studying him. “You’re not planning on having Wei Wuxian spend it with you, right?”

Lan Zhan felt like it was an attack. He didn’t know how to respond. His lack of immediate answer was apparently enough, though.

“Don’t do it,” Lan Xia said. “I know you’re engaged, but it’s too risky. You know what would happen if you got pregnant, don’t you?”

Lan Zhan nodded. He knew all too well.

“Just a few more heats alone,” Lan Xia continued. “I know it sucks, but I’ve been doing it for years.”

It was one thing to be used to it like that, Lan Zhan thought. The last time he’d had a heat, it was the best one in his life. He didn’t want to be miserable again.

Maybe if he stayed away this time though, he could take care of Wei Wuxian when his rut came afterwards. “Okay,” he said quietly.

Thankfully, his mother left it at that.

Lan Zhan waited to tell Wei Wuxian about it until his heat was two weeks away. He wasn’t sure if he would secretly go against his mother’s wishes or not; part of him really wanted to, but the other part nagged at him. He wasn’t opposed to breaking the rules subtly, but it was different when he was told directly not to do something.

It was halfway through the week, after Lan Zhan had returned from his martial arts class in the evening. He sat in the bath brooding over it, waiting for Wei Wuxian to show up for the night. What would his mother say if he simply told her that he would invite Wei Wuxian over regardless? Would that be pushing things too far?

As per usual, Wei Wuxian invited himself into Lan Zhan's room once evening hit. He climbed up and in through the window and took off his shoes, smiling when he crept over and saw Lan Zhan.

"Lan Zhan," he cooed. He walked towards him, shucking off his jacket to throw it on the bed, and rolled up his sleeves. With a hum, he threw his arms over Lan Zhan's wet shoulders and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. "Hello."

Lan Zhan hummed and turned his head so he could kiss him. "Hello," he said back. "How was your day?"

"It was good. Wang Laoshi had me give tips to some of the other alphas in my conjuration class," Wei Wuxian said. "What about you? What have you done today?"

"Mmmm..." Lan Zhan turned over onto his knees and folded his arms over the side of the tub. "I'm glad Wang Laoshi has recognized your talent," he said. "I went to class and studied and went to my martial arts class. It was difficult because the instructor had me roll with the alphas. There is another class with six alpha women and four alpha men, and tonight he combined it with our class to teach a specific set. I had to roll with each alpha for ten minutes."

That made Wei Wuxian bristle a little. He knew it was silly to be jealous but he couldn't help but grumble and lean in to nose at Lan Zhan's neck where his scent was the strongest. "None of them tried anything though?" he asked.

"No," Lan Zhan said, tilting his head a bit. "The instructor watches everything. One of them said 'don't mind if I do' when she learned she would roll with me but the instructor told her she would take it back when I made her submit. She was somewhat flirtatious but not disrespectful."

Strangely, he had never had an issue in regards to alphas with martial arts, even the style that had no sense of personal space. It was perhaps because he was a black belt and was known for being ruthless, plus the instructor kept a close eye on it all.

"You should go sometime if you like wrestling with me and Jiang Wanyin," he said. "You will learn some good moves."

"Here I was thinking you were taking the classes because you were trying to kick my ass. Now you want me to kick _your_ ass even harder?" Wei Wuxian said with a laugh.

Lan Zhan rolled his eyes. "You are a quick thinker," he said. "That is why you last so long. And because I do not use too many martial arts moves because I want to make it fair. And I have been taking martial arts since I learned how to run. You would have to practice for many years to reach my level."

"Alright just rub it in how much better than me you are, why don't you?" Wei Wuxian said. He let out a soft hum. "I still kick your ass though."

Lan Zhan turned back around and pulled the plug on the bath. “I am better than you in martial arts,” he said. “Even if you kick my ass.” He stood up and stepped out, picking up the towel so he could dry himself off.

Wei Wuxian smiled as he watched him get out the bath. He leaned against the tub, admiring the view as he sauntered away.

Lan Zhan pulled on his underwear and night robe, then let his hair down from the bun he had put it in. He brushed it out and then went to his sewing table. “Come here,” he said, inspecting the garment he had laid out. “Take off your robes too. You can leave your pants on.”

"Oh?" Wei Wuxian said, his interest suddenly piqued. He obeyed though, shedding his clothes at an impressive speed until he was just in his pants, then walked over to Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan picked up the vest and turned to meet him. He had taken his measurements and started working on it as well as a skirt to match, but he needed to put it on him to make sure it fit before he did the finishing stitches. He was quite proud of it. It was black with red trim, and was made to be thick and sturdy. It was stiffened with thin and flat strips of wood that wouldn’t break if bent. The front was designed to look like a normal vest, though it didn’t open in the front. The back was held together by many button holes and a black ribbon that would weave through them. Lan Zhan held the vest up, facing Wei Wuxian so he could slide his arms through.

Wei Wuxian had to admit that he was a little disappointed that he was only undressing to get dressed again but he put his arms through where Lan Zhan directed him and was pleasantly surprised at the soft fabric.

Lan Zhan went around to the back and started to thread the ribbon through the button holes. They had been a pain to put on the thing, but he was happy with how sturdy it was. He left it loose at first, leaving the ribbon hanging down at the bottom so he could walk around him and tug at certain places to see how it fit. If it was tight at all before being properly tightened, he would have to go back and make it bigger. “How does it feel?” he asked. “It is loose right now but is it tight anywhere? Can you move around?”

Wei Wuxian did as he was told and moved around a bit. "A little under my arm," he said, lifting his arm. "But other than that, it's okay."

Lan Zhan inspected that spot and made a mental note to let it out a little. He went to the back again and started to tighten the corset from the top down. He did it slowly, trying not to do it so tight that it would be painful or keep him from breathing. It looked stunning from the back, making his waist dip in a little like an omega’s would.

“Is it still okay?” he asked as he tied the ribbon into a bow at the bottom.

"Yeah," Wei Wuxian said. He could breathe just fine. He ran his hand up and down his chest, looking at the way it clung to his skin.

Lan Zhan walked around him again and admired him, trying to stay neutral and not get horny about it. He had to focus. He loosened the corset and let out the stitching under the arm where Wei Wuxian had said it was a little tight, which took a few minutes. When it was good, he tightened it back up and went and carried a standing mirror over to the table so Wei Wuxian could see himself.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

"It's softer than I imagined... and the colours are nice," Wei Wuxian said. He grinned at Lan Zhan. "What I like most is that delightful scent that's coming from you when you look at me."

Lan Zhan met his eyes and let a bit of hunger out into his expression. He wet his lips and went to stand behind him and face the mirror. He put his hands on the dip of his waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. “You look a bit like an omega,” he murmured.

"Is that what's doing it for you?" Wei Wuxian asked. He chuckled. "I'm sure you'd love it if I could be an omega for a day."

Lan Zhan looked at the side of Wei Wuxian’s face for a moment, licking his lips again. What a pipe dream... “I would have fun,” he said. “But I like you like this too.” He moved his hands to run up and down his upper arms, squeezing a little. “I like you being an alpha who is soft around the edges, who will submit to me and let me dress him up like a doll.”

"You ever want to fuck me or tie me up, you know you just have to ask," Wei Wuxian mumbled, turning his head to look at Lan Zhan and smirking at him.

Lan Zhan smiled a little in response. “What about tomorrow?” he asked. “I want to finish your skirt first. And I’d like to try using some rope too.” And honestly, he was too tired to do any fucking after martial arts class.

"Okay," Wei Wuxian said. He turned around and took Lan Zhan's cheeks in his hands so he could lean in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan kissed him back with a happy hum. “Don’t go anywhere, I want you to try on the skirt so I can make sure it fits. Take your pants off.”

He pulled away to get the other garment from the table. It was a simple circle skirt made of black silk, meant to reach his mid thigh. He had sewn an extra strip of fabric at the top to raise the waistline a few inches. He unbuttoned the top of it and handed it to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian shoved off his pants and took the skirt from Lan Zhan. He looked it for a moment, his cheeks turning a bit pink at the length of it, before he pulled it on.

Lan Zhan buttoned them up once they were on and put a few fingers on the inside seam to test its tightness. Then he went behind him and loosened up the corset. “Take a deep breath,” he said. “Does it fit okay?”

"I've never felt so much air on my dick," Wei Wuxian. He felt the waistband with his palms. "But yeah. This... fits fine."

Lan Zhan admired him in the mirror, running his hands up Wei Wuxian’s thighs and under the skirt. This was definitely the best thing he’d made. “Once I finish these I will work on mine.” He pulled the ribbon out of the button holes and took the corset off of Wei Wuxian with a sigh. “My mother told me not to spend my heat with you.”

"Wait, why?" Wei Wuxian asked. Lan Xia was a nice woman, he didn't understand why she would prevent them from sharing a heat. They were engaged after all.

Lan Zhan unbuttoned the skirt as well and took it off him so he could set it down to finish up later. “She says it is too dangerous,” he said.

Wei Wuxian pulled his pants back on and then went to sit on Lan Zhan's bed with a sigh. "Dangerous? What, because of pregnancy? I didn't get you pregnant before."

Lan Zhan followed him, settling on the bed and stretching out his legs. “I know,” he said. “I suppose all it takes is once.”

"We've always been careful," Wei Wuxian whined. He shuffled over and rested his head in Lan Zhan's lap.

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip. He wanted to tell him to come over anyway, but... “I don’t want to cause more tension.”

"I guess," Wei Wuxian sighed. He nuzzled against Lan Zhan's thigh. "But I'll miss you. I hate to think of you suffering alone when I could be there to help you."

Lan Zhan’s sigh echoed his. “I have done it before,” he said. “I... will have to do it again.”

"It makes me feel like a bad alpha," Wei Wuxian grumbled. "Can I at least scent some blankets for you? And leave food at your door?"

Lan Zhan hummed. “I will give you my blankets to scent,” he said. “I will ask my mother if it is okay to give you a key.”

"I will promise her that I won't take advantage of what she's given me," Wei Wuxian said. He turned to look up at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan looked down at him and put his hand on his cheek. “It won’t be this way forever,” he said, half to himself.

"I know. In the future, we'll be married and no one can stop us from doing whatever we want," Wei Wuxian said with a smile.


	41. Omega Wei Wuxian

The following night, Wei Wuxian was ever eager to come see Lan Zhan once evening hit. He'd finished all of his classes for the day and he remembered what he and Lan Zhan had agreed on the day prior. He wondered what exactly he had in store for him. He need not have wondered too much though for as soon as he climbed in through the window and took off his shoes as per usual, he saw Lan Zhan fiddling with some ropes at the bed.

"What have you got there?" he said, walking over.

Lan Zhan glanced at him, then looked back at the rope. It was thin but sturdy enough. Instead of answering, he pointed at the bedside table where he had the black skirt and his black stockings on top of it.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips nervously. He had a feeling he knew wha Lan Zhan was asking of him. "You uh... want me to put those on?"

Lan Zhan glanced at him again and nodded. “Mhmm.” Now that Wei Wuxian was there, he could go ahead and get ready. He left the rope on the bed and went to get a bowl of hot water and soap, some washcloths and the lube. He took off his outer robe while he did.

Wei Wuxian picked up the skirt and stockings and shuffled behind the privacy screen to undress. He slowly pulled on the first leg of the stockings. In the past, he'd noticed how soft they felt on Lan Zhan but he was surprised to find how nice they felt on him too. Once he was dressed, he walked back out from behind the privacy screen, clearing his throat to get Lan Zhan's attention. Hopefully he didn't look _too_ ridiculous.

Lan Zhan’s eyes visibly widened when he turned around. He bit his lip and took in a deep breath while he looked him up and down. He had done well with that skirt. It fit perfectly. He tore his eyes away so he could go to the bed and get the rope and the porn book he was using as reference. He crooked his finger at him to beckon him over.

"You like what you see, huh?" Wei Wuxian said. His voice was a little shaky, given that this whole situation was kind of embarrassing. Even so, he made his way over to the bed when Lan Zhan motioned for him to come over.

Lan Zhan didn’t answer verbally, but the heady scent of desire was enough of an answer. He picked up the rope and faced Wei Wuxian as he came near. He had practiced on a pillow for a while, but this would be the first time he tried it for real. It took him a little while to finish. He was hesitant and looked at the pictures to make sure he was doing it right. He had to start over a few times, but each time he got a little better at it. Eventually he had a beautiful chest harness wrapped around Wei Wuxian, with his arms secured horizontally against his diaphragm. He took a few steps back and drank in the sight of him. The skirt and stockings looked adorable as well as sexy, and the rope made him look absolutely delectable. He rubbed his lips together hungrily.

“Sit on the bed,” he said quietly when he’d taken his fill.

Wei Wuxian couldn't seem to explain the way Lan Zhan made him feel in this situation. Here he was, tied and bound, dressed in a skirt and stockings, at the mercy of his omega. Most alphas would probably balk at the idea of doing such a thing. However, Wei Wuxian couldn't help but already feel the tingles of arousal as he got on the bed.

Lan Zhan stood at the head of the bed and looked at Wei Wuxian, wondering what he could do to make this better. It wasn’t often he got to do this, after all. He chewed on his lip and then went back to his vanity and looked at the ribbons he had. He hummed; they weren’t good enough. He did have some better ribbons in his sewing box, though.

He went over to his sewing area and looked in the box where he held the decorative things he used to make his stuffed animals. He had some wider ribbons there. He pulled out a red ribbon that was a couple of inches wide, then brought it back to the bed. He straddled Wei Wuxian’s thighs and slid the ribbon under the part of hair he had pulled back already, and started to tie it. He had done these decorative bows countless of times on his stuffed animals, but he wasn’t prepared for how adorable it would look on top of Wei Wuxian’s head. Lan Zhan sat back and marveled at how cute he was. “You are beautiful,” he whispered.

Wei Wuxian's cheeks were a deep pink. Even so, he smiled at him. Whatever made his omega happy, made him happy too. "Have you finished dressing me up?" he asked.

Lan Zhan considered. There wasn’t anything else he wanted at that moment, so he nodded. He got off the bed and pulled the bedside table closer to the middle rather than against the wall, that way he could reach everything easily. He settled between Wei Wuxian’s legs and got the jar of lubricant.

“I want you to act dignified,” he said as he unscrewed it. “No begging... until you simply can’t resist.” He wanted to _earn_ his begging this time. And he would.

"Like a typical alpha if their omega decided to fuck them?" Wei Wuxian said with a light laugh. It was hard not to run his mouth, especially when Lan Zhan was making him feel good, but he was going to try.

Lan Zhan thought about that. How _would_ a typical alpha act? He wasn’t sure. “Acceptable,” he said anyway. He looked over Wei Wuxian and asked, “Would you rather lay down or sit against the headboard?” He couldn’t use his arms, so it wasn’t like he could hold himself up.

"Lay down," Wei Wuxian said. He knew he would struggle to keep himself up once things got intense. With that, he laid back against the sheets and wiggled to get into a comfortable position.

Lan Zhan dipped two fingers into the lubricant and took a deep breath. He had everything he needed, so there was no need to worry about getting dirty. He hadn’t even bathed yet, so he didn’t feel the need to keep himself clean. He reached under the skirt and traced the outside of Wei Wuxian’s rim, then slowly pressed his middle finger in. When it relaxed, he added the other one.

Wei Wuxian's breath hitched at the second finger. He squirmed a little, given that it'd been a little while since he'd had anything inside him like this. "Fuck," he whispered under his breath.

Lan Zhan kept his hand still for a moment, then started to gradually pull his fingers out and push them back in. Each time they were fully inside him he curled them up and swirled around a few times. When he got used to this, he finally let his left hand wrap around his cock. The skirt slid off of it and exposed him as he drew his hand upwards. He would keep this slow pace up for a few minutes.

Wei Wuxian let out small groans and his legs twitched at the small ministrations. Lan Zhan was truly a menace when he wanted to be with the slow pace. Not to mention, it was kind of embarrassing being exposed like this. "I've never met an omega who got kicks out of this sort of thing," he breathed.

“You’ve only met omega women,” Lan Zhan said. He suddenly sped his hand up and pumped Wei Wuxian’s cock fast, then slowed down again. He smeared the precum over the head and said, “I can’t resist when you are this pretty.”

"I suppose it makes good use of that decent sized cock of yours," Wei Wuxian replied. He groaned and leaned his head back as more precum spilt into Lan Zhan's hand.

Lan Zhan just hummed in response. He sped up again, this time keeping it up until it seemed like Wei Wuxian was getting close. Then he let go completely and focused on stretching him with his other hand.

Wei Wuxian whined when Lan Zhan let go. Just when he was getting close. He bucked up his hips, missing the friction.

Lan Zhan waited a minute before he touched him again. He kept his grip loose, just enough to stimulate a little but not enough to satisfy. “If you cum without my permission you will regret it,” he said quietly.

"What will you do to me?" Wei Wuxian challenged. He had no doubts that Lan Zhan was willing to push the limits but he was curious nonetheless.

“If you disobey me?” Lan Zhan asked. He took his left hand off Wei Wuxian’s cock and trailed his fingers down to his balls. “You told me no yanking your _hair_ too hard, but you never mentioned these.”

Wei Wuxian let out a bit of an undignified squeal simply at the suggestion. Lan Zhan wouldn't... would he? "I'll behave," he said.

Lan Zhan stared at him for a short moment, then went back to teasing his cock. He ran his fingers up the shaft and rubbed at the tip. His right hand kept making circles over his sweet spot. After a minute of this he wrapped his hand around it properly and gave it a few pumps.

More precum spilt into Lan Zhan's hand. Wei Wuxian whined and moaned, feeling a familiar build up in the pit of his stomach. "I'll cum, Lan Zhan," he breathed.

Lan Zhan let go again. He pulled his fingers out as well and stood up so he could take pants and underwear off. He untied his inner robe but left it hanging off his shoulders. He put some more lubricant on his fingers and slicked up his cock, then he reached for the bowl of water and washed his hands to clean them. When he thought that he was ready, he just sat and looked at Wei Wuxian, considering.

Wei Wuxian hadn't realised he'd closed his eyes until he re-opened them again, looking expectantly at Lan Zhan. What was he doing, just sitting there? "Aren't you going to put it in?" he asked.

“I will,” Lan Zhan said vaguely. At the moment he was just admiring, letting Wei Wuxian simmer down some more. He ran his hands up and down Wei Wuxian’s thighs, then up over his skirt and arms. He fiddled with Wei Wuxian’s hands and asked, “Do you want me to?”

Wei Wuxian resisted the urge to beg. Lan Zhan didn't want him to so he just turned his head to one side and scowled. "Do whatever you want," he said.

Lan Zhan’s lips twitched. That was a non-answer; how fun. “Okay,” he said.

He spent another minute running his hands over Wei Wuxian’s body, feeling his muscles and soft skin, rubbing circles over the marks Lan Zhan had left on him. When he had had his fill, he put his hands on Wei Wuxian’s thighs and pushed them up so he could patiently line himself up. He pressed in slowly, subconsciously biting his lip as the tight pressure encased him.

Wei Wuxian groaned. Lan Zhan was steadily filling him, spreading him open. His toes curled and his legs twitched but he focused on steadying his breathing. "Oh Gods," he whispered.

Lan Zhan breathed in through his nose and then lowered himself down a little. He reached up to tilt Wei Wuxian’s head down so he could kiss him, slowly and passionately. He planned to take his time with this.

Wei Wuxian was eager to kiss back. He took the initiative to be a little mischievous and bit Lan Zhan's bottom lip with a smirk.

Lan Zhan winced and grunted softly. He pulled away an inch to suck on his smarting lip and glared down at Wei Wuxian. “Keep your teeth to yourself,” he said.

"You never said that was against the rules," Wei Wuxian replied. He took a deep breath and rocked his hips towards Lan Zhan, egging him to get deeper inside him.

Lan Zhan met him halfway, pushing in until he was completely inside. "Well now I said it," Lan Zhan said. He closed the distance between them and kissed him again, over and over. He started to rock his hips back and forth in small and slow movements.

Wei Wuxian moaned into his mouth. He wished he could loop his arms around him but he was restricted by his bindings. Instead, he squeezed his sides with his thighs.

Lan Zhan liked that a _lot._ He rewarded him by thrusting a little faster. He gave his bottom lip a pinch, though not nearly as hard as Wei Wuxian had done a moment earlier. He licked over it and then pressed his tongue into his mouth.

Wei Wuxian closed the deal by crossing his ankles behind Lan Zhan, drawing him deeper as he continued to whine into his mouth with every thrust. It felt good, _too_ good.

_Ah, so he learned something from wrestling with me,_ Lan Zhan thought with a little smile. He tilted his head the other way and rubbed his tongue against Wei Wuxian's, kissing him until he had to pull away and pant. He pushed himself to his hands and positioned his knees so he could use his core muscles and not strain as much when he thrusted. His hair fell over his shoulders and he paused to pull it over one shoulder so he didn't suffocate Wei Wuxian with it.

"You look gorgeous like this," Wei Wuxian breathed when Lan Zhan pulled away from his lips for a moment. His smile reached his eyes as he looked at him fondly, squeezing him with his legs and letting out small moans with every thrust that hit all the right spots.

The praise made Lan Zhan feel warm and he wanted to preen but he resisted it. He dragged his bottom lip through his teeth and murmured, “You look even prettier.”

And he really did. Lan Zhan couldn’t describe how shocking it was to see Wei Wuxian in a black skirt and stockings, adorned with a big red bow in his hair. Admittedly, the whole thing was so arousing to him that he knew he wasn’t going to last more than a couple minutes like this. It wasn’t a huge deal, not when he knew he could keep going after an orgasm. He intended to cum at least twice before he let Wei Wuxian do so, anyway.

His hips ultimately sped up regardless of his intent. He closed his eyes and chased his pleasure with increasing abandon, ignoring the part in the back of his mind where he worried about Wei Wuxian cumming untouched. He would cross that bridge if he got to it. Like always when he wasn’t being penetrated, his orgasm was slow but intense. He kept thrusting, albeit haphazardly, his mouth falling open in a silent moan.

Wei Wuxian of course kept his eyes locked on Lan Zhan as he rode the waves of his orgasm. He whimpered a little at the hot gush of cum inside him but paid closer attention to Lan Zhan. "I wish I had a painting of how good you look like that," he whispered.

Lan Zhan’s eyelids fluttered open and he stared down at Wei Wuxian, his hot, slowing breaths filling the air between them. “You could always try to draw it from memory,” he said.

He sat back and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He was still deep inside Wei Wuxian, and he didn’t intend to pull out yet. He needed to give himself a moment to recover before starting up again, though. He went back to running his hands over Wei Wuxian’s thighs and calves, then up to his sides and arms.

"Yes, I think I will... that and how wonderful you looked spread out on the desk after warming my cock for so long..." Wei Wuxian recalled with a hint of amusement and fondness.

Lan Zhan rubbed his lips together at the memory. That had been a fun night. He clenched a little, almost wishing he could ride Wei Wuxian right then... he _could,_ but this night wasn’t about that. He could be filled up anytime he wanted, it didn’t have to be then.

He started to drag his hips back and forth slowly. He was still sensitive, but it felt good. “You’d _have_ to do it from memory,” he said. “You couldn’t stand to draw me from reference like that.”

"Luckily, my memory is pretty good," Wei Wuxian replied in a breathy tone. He let out a punched out moan when Lan Zhan started to move again, squeezing his sides with his thighs.

“I’d like to see it when you draw them,” Lan Zhan said. He sped up a little, encouraged by Wei Wuxian’s debased moan. He glanced down at Wei Wuxian’s dark, leaking cock. “I wonder what the girls would say if I told them I did you like this...”

That only made Wei Wuxian's cock throb again. He took a deep breath and moaned on the exhale. "I can't believe you were so against the idea of putting anything in my ass at first," he said.

“It’s gross,” Lan Zhan said as he slowed down again, resting his hands on Wei Wuxian’s forearms. “But I can clean up this time.”

"I'm gonna fuck your ass some day," Wei Wuxian replied. He groaned and wiggled a bit when Lan Zhan slowed down. "I promise, you'll come to like it."

Lan Zhan’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He was still bent on that? “You’ll take what I give you,” he said. With that, he started to thrust faster again.

"Fuck yeah I will," Wei Wuxian replied with a chuckle. He leaned his head back as Lan Zhan fucked into him harder, gasping a bit.

Lan Zhan grimaced. He wasn’t fond of the smug attitude, but he ignored it this time. He closed his eyes and once again focused on his own pleasure. It would take longer to cum this time, but he wasn’t in a hurry.

"I'm gonna...ahh... I'm gonna stuff your sweet pussy full and then play with your ass. Fuck, I can't wait," Wei Wuxian continued between moans.

Lan Zhan subconsciously clenched around nothing, his body already imagining it. “Shut up,” he grunted, annoyed.

Talking was obviously his best quality. Wei Wuxian chuckled again. "I felt your cock twitch," he said. "You like it."

Even if he did like it, Lan Zhan wasn't going to admit that at the moment. It wasn't time for that kind of thing. He was in charge this time. He gave a few brutal slams of his hips and said, "Shut _up._ I won't say it again."

"Why, thought you had this big strong alpha under your thumb huh?" Wei Wuxian taunted between stuttered breaths and moans. He knew he was pushing the limits here. "You're still just an omega at the end of the day."

Lan Zhan's thrusts came to a stop. That was the last straw. He _knew_ Wei Wuxian was doing it on purpose, but he didn't care. He pulled out and reached over the bed to grab the sash Wei Wuxian had left on the ground when he undressed. He might have been too rough as he pushed the sash between Wei Wuxian's teeth and shoved him over so he could tie it tight behind his head so he couldn't push it out. Then he yanked Wei Wuxian's hips up in the air and lifted his skirt so he could start fucking him again.

Wei Wuxian couldn't deny that the way Lan Zhan had punished him only turned him on further. He whined behind the makeshift gag, humiliation burning in his cheeks as he was flipped onto his front and mounted like an animal. But even so, his cock was hard and dripping, so close to the edge, and he kept letting out muffled moans.

Lan Zhan had to admit that this was hot. He usually loved to hear Wei Wuxian talk, but hearing him moan behind the gag was just as good. Especially when he was able to punish him like that. It was exactly the kind of power trip he loved so much.

He kept an eye on Wei Wuxian's hands and resisted the urge to close his eyes this time, just in case he used the signal they had agreed upon. It wasn't too difficult, since he loved looking at his waist in that little skirt. It took another minute before he could cum, just as hard as the first time. He only let out a breathy grunt when he did, his eyelids fluttering closed.

Wei Wuxian let out a soft cry when Lan Zhan came inside him again. He was no doubt dripping with his cum by now, at least judging by the squelching noises. How obscene. He was so close to the edge, just one hand on his cock would do it. He needed just a little more.

Lan Zhan pulled out and rolled Wei Wuxian over. He took a moment to just stare at him, taking in the sight. He glanced at his drawing notebook, wondering if he could try to draw him... no, it wouldn't look good. Maybe when he was more confident in his skills. He reached up and pulled the ends of the gag to untie it and set it aside.

As soon as the gag was out, Wei Wuxian took a deep breath. He looked at Lan Zhan pleadingly. "Lan Zhan. please... I'm so close. I want to cum," he begged. "Please let me cum."

Lan Zhan tilted his head and looked at Wei Wuxian's cock. It looked almost pitiful, with how much it leaked. He set his hand on the dark curls around it and let his thumb tickle the base. "I don't think I know how," he said. "I'm only an omega, after all."

"I don't know, one would think that pleasuring cocks is what omegas know how to do best," Wei Wuxian replied. He was probably digging his own grave here but he couldn't stop his mouth from running. "Come on, _please?_ Don't you want to see me cum for you?"

Lan Zhan hummed, a little curious about something. "Okay, you can cum," he said. He didn't move his hand even as he said it, though he did wiggle his thumb a little where it rested at the base.

Wei Wuxian whined again. He tried to buck his hips up towards Lan Zhan's fingers for a little more friction. "Touch me," he said. "Please."

Lan Zhan tilted his head the other way and took his hand away, only to draw one finger lightly up the underside. How many little touches would it take? Could he cum at all like that?

"Lan Zhaaaan," Wei Wuxian said. Was he going to have to do better? "Please baby. Wrap your whole hand around my cock, it's the only way I'm going to cum."

Admittedly, Lan Zhan was moved. There was something about being called _baby_ that made him feel more sympathetic. He wrapped his hand around the shaft, though he kept it loose. He rubbed his thumb up and down, caressing the thick vein there.

That was enough. Wei Wuxian bucked his hips up and down to get enough friction from Lan Zhan's loose grip. It was a struggle but he had been so close anyway. So, with a final moan, Wei Wuxian climaxed into Lan Zhan's hand.

Lan Zhan’s eyes widened and he chewed on his lip while he watched. It was pretty arousing to see him cum like that with so little stimulation. He belatedly wished he had gotten that inside him, but he pushed the thought away. He could have that anytime he wanted. He untied the rope and started to gently unwrap Wei Wuxian from it.

"Oh thank the Gods," Wei Wuxian sighed when Lan Zhan started untying him. He stretched once he was free, rubbed his wrists, then sat up and wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan. He smiled as he pulled him into his lap and kissed him.

Lan Zhan settled there easily. He slid his hands up Wei Wuxian’s chest and ten over his shoulders. He wanted to take a bath and get clean, since he was still oily and gross, but it could wait a minute.

As he kissed him, Wei Wuxian slid his hands down his back and groped at his ass. Then, they continued to wander until they found Lan Zhan's vaginal opening. He hummed into the kiss as he rubbed over it through the slick before easing a finger inside him.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth and sucked in a breath at the intrusion. He moved his hips up in surprise even as he clenched around Wei Wuxian’s finger. “You still want more?” he breathed.

"Since when was Lan Zhan satisfied with just two orgasms?" Wei Wuxian replied. He laughed and kissed down Lan Zhan's neck as he moved his finger in and out of him until he could ease in a second.

Lan Zhan forced out a breath and shifted so he could sit in Wei Wuxian’s lap more comfortably, his legs on either side of his hips. “You just want to get your masculinity back,” he said.

"Does it bother you?" Wei Wuxian asked. He nipped at Lan Zhan's neck. "You want me to pull my fingers out of you and leave?"

Lan Zhan huffed again, annoyed. He reached up to shield his skin from Wei Wuxian's teeth and breathed out a quiet "fuck you." He always got a rush out of saying things like that.

"You're telling me you're not _super_ turned on by the idea of being fucked by a man in a skirt?" Wei Wuxian said. He chuckled against Lan Zhan's skin. "And stockings, for that matter."

"Can you even get it up again?" Lan Zhan asked skeptically, avoiding the question. He squeezed around Wei Wuxian's fingers again and shifted a bit.

"I didn't say I'd fuck you with my cock," Wei Wuxian replied. He pushed his fingers in a little harder, curling them in towards that familiar sweet spot.

Lan Zhan tensed up and his hips jerked forward. He could feel more slick forming when Wei Wuxian hit that spot, and his half-mast hardened more. "What will you fuck me with then?" he asked.

"Close your eyes. Or let me blindfold you," Wei Wuxian suggested. He'd been planning on using his toy for some time and now seemed like a good enough time to do it.

Lan Zhan paused. He wasn't sure about giving Wei Wuxian all the power at that moment. But also... he was curious. He closed his eyes. "Do what you want," he said.

Wei Wuxian pulled his fingers out of him. He focused his magical energy to form a dildo, but of course, it wasn't any ordinary dildo. With a hum, he carefully pushed it inside Lan Zhan. It was about the same size as his cock and fairly realistic looking, if he did say so himself. "Keep them closed," he said as he pushed it in.

Lan Zhan sat up on his knees and put his hands on Wei Wuxian's shoulders, mentally preparing himself. It was difficult to keep his eyes closed, since he really wanted to look. He shivered a little as it went in. It stretched him wide open, pushing at his inner walls until they relaxed and let it in.

Wei Wuxian kept pushing the dildo in and then thrust it a few times shallowly. It was time to kick it up a notch.

What he did next was just about the most shocking thing Lan Zhan had ever experienced. Vibrations lit up the middle of his body in intense, hot pleasure. His eyes flew open and he gasped loudly. His body simultaneously tensed up and went limp. He fought to stay upright, his body wavering with it. It was relentless and the intensity overpowered him as the seconds went on, and it wasn't even five seconds before he was cumming again. He couldn't even be bothered to care about the loud, unrestrained moan that fell from his lips.

Wei Wuxian was satisfied with that reaction but he didn't stop. He kept wiggling the toy inside him, pushing it against all of his sweets spots in an attempt to get him to cum in quick succession. "Feels good, huh?" he said.

Lan Zhan was shaking viciously. The vibrations didn't relent, keeping him high above the clouds. It was like his body was full of electricity, like someone was continuously casting a low-level shock spell on him. It felt _amazing._

He finally went limp and fell against Wei Wuxian's chest, then started to fall to the side, unable to hold himself up. It was _too much,_ even if he didn't want it to stop. "Wei Wuxi- _ahhh,"_ he cried out.

This was the sort of thing that was worth getting pounded for. Wei Wuxian licked his lips and wrapped his arm around Lan Zhan to keep him up. "I've never seen you so overwhelmed," he breathed.

Lan Zhan writhed around, trying to lay down or hang onto Wei Wuxian or _something._ He could feel something squirt out of him but he wasn’t even sure if it was cum or precum — _everything_ felt like an orgasm. Like it wasn’t coming down or ending at all. He pushed out tears and made a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a moan.

Wei Wuxian figured that Lan Zhan would tell him when he got too overwhelmed. He rubbed up and down his back as he kept pushing the toy inside him.

Lan Zhan was sure, after a minute of this, that he was just having one continuous orgasm through it all. He hadn't experienced something like this before, not at this intensity level. He wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian's neck and hung on for his life, his hips rutting down against the toy. At some point his body seemed to settle down a little bit, but the intensity didn't stop. His hips just kept jerking in tiny motions. He didn't think he was capable of going any longer, but at the same time he didn't want it to end.

"Tap me if you want me to stop," Wei Wuxian told him. He upped the intensity a little, making the toy vibrate faster and moving it harder inside him. He kept it on his sweet spot for periods of time.

Lan Zhan moaned into Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. The increase pushed him over the edge, past what he could handle. He tapped Wei Wuxian’s shoulder.

Wei Wuxian pulled the toy out of Lan Zhan and stopped it from vibrating. He let it dissipate and cradled Lan Zhan in his arms. "Hey, you okay?" he asked softly and pressed a kiss to the side of Lan Zhan's head.

Lan Zhan’s body was still buzzing. He wanted it _back,_ he wanted to keep going and get those sweet vibrations back but he knew he couldn’t take it anymore.

Now that he could think, he registered exactly how much of a mess he had become in the past— it couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes. He was coated in sweat and drool had slid down his chin, and he had absolutely soaked Wei Wuxian in slick and precum. He looked down at himself in shock, and just made a small noise as an answer while he wiped his chin and forehead.

The good thing about being able to summon his tentacles was that Wei Wuxian could do multiple things while still being with Lan Zhan. He summoned one to bring his bag over which had a couple towels in. Given their activities, it was important to bring some. He laid them down on the bed and then shifted Lan Zhan to lay down on them. Then, he took careful care as he wiped away a lot of the sweat and slick. Meanwhile, another one of his tentacles focused on running the bath. They could both use a hot bath after all of that.

Lan Zhan watched with passive interest. He appreciated Wei Wuxian using his own towels, since he didn’t like getting his dirty. He reached for the tentacle that had brought the bag over and popped the end of it in his mouth.

"You're such a tease," Wei Wuxian said. He looked at him suckle for a moment before lifting one of Lan Zhan's legs to clean his inner thighs.

Lan Zhan kind of wanted to put the tentacle between his legs. His body hadn’t simmered down enough, the spot inside him still tingled with leftover pleasure. But his cock ached and would undoubtedly hurt more if he tried to go again. It was frustrating. He made a quiet noise of complaint around the tentacle as his cock twitched.

"What's the matter, hm?" Wei Wuxian asked. He had the tentacle pull out of Lan Zhan's mouth and out of reach. "You can have it back once you talk to me."

Lan Zhan resisted the urge to make an extremely bratty noise. It was a near thing. He plopped his forehead on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder and said, “Inside me it feels... like I need something again. Frustrating.”

"Haven't you cum like eight times already?" Wei Wuxian said, cocking an eyebrow.

"I think that is why," Lan Zhan said. "Did me too much. Can't turn it off now." He reached for the tentacle again.

Wei Wuxian let the tentacle drift back over into Lan Zhan's grip. "The bath will be done soon," he said.

Lan Zhan hummed in response. He took off his damp inner robe and threw it on the ground before relaxing again, putting the tentacle back in his mouth. He felt oddly fond towards it, and ran his hand gently up and down it, like it was one of his stuffed animal babies or something. He started to purr softly while he sucked.

"I'll never understand what your obsession with those things are," Wei Wuxian said. He crawled over Lan Zhan and kissed his neck softly.

Lan Zhan pulled it out so he could explain. "They are fun to hold and they feel good to touch. Like my stuffed animals. But they feel alive too. Like little friends. Babies."

"I'll give you babies you can hold," Wei Wuxian mumbled against his skin. He chuckled a little and then pulled Lan Zhan up with him. "Come on. Bath is ready."

Lan Zhan grumbled but he stood up, keeping the tentacle in his hands as he made his way to the bath. "Real babies take work. I like these babies better."

Wei Wuxian got into the bath with him after removing his skirt and stockings. He hummed as he settled in the hot water. "You like Hudie though, don't you?" he said.

Lan Zhan set the tentacle in the water and watched it with interest. "I do," he said. "I like that I do not have to take care of her every day too. I wouldn't mind if these were around every day."

Wei Wuxian let another tentacle form and slither over Lan Zhan's body, up from his thigh, to his stomach, to his chest, before affectionately wrapping around the back of his neck under his hair. "I can't wait to work out how to feel with them," he said.

Lan Zhan smiled a little and turned his head to try and look at the tentacle behind his head. "Hello," he said. To Wei Wuxian he added, "You will have to learn how to turn it off too."

"What do you intend to do that will make me need to turn it off?" Wei Wuxian asked. The tentacle slid further around so it could rub up against Lan Zhan's cheek.

Lan Zhan's eyes widened a little and he opened his mouth like he was going to catch it but he didn't. "I don't want you to make me leave it alone if you're too sensitive afterwards," he said.

Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Zhan's thighs and pulled them apart so he could properly nestle between them. "I'm leaving you alone now that you're too sensitive, aren't I? You can pay me the same courtesy."

Lan Zhan sank down a little in the tub, lifting his feet to rest on the edges. "But you could just turn it off," he argued.

"So selfish Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian huffed. He splashed him with the bath water.

Lan Zhan scoffed and turned his head to avoid it. "You can do me again if you want," he said.

Wei Wuxian shuffled closer so he could rub his cock up against Lan Zhan's opening. "Are you sure? You're not too sensitive?" he asked.

Lan Zhan scooted his feet closer to him on the edge of the tub, spreading his legs further. "Just leave my dick alone," he said. The needy buzzing feeling had died down over the last couple of minutes, but his inner walls were still ready for more despite his cock being sensitive.

"Okay," Wei Wuxian whispered. He rubbed his cockhead against him a few more times and then slowly started to ease himself inside with a soft moan.

Lan Zhan bit his lip and grabbed the edge of the tub. “Hold my lower back,” he said as he reached for the tentacle that had wrapped behind his neck so he could put it in his mouth.

Wei Wuxian did as he was told. He supported Lan Zhan's lower back before slowly beginning to move inside of him.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He was so sensitive on the inside but it felt _good._ He wanted more, he wanted a better angle. He pushed against Wei Wuxian’s chest. “Wait, let me turn around,” he said. “I want a better angle.”

Wei Wuxian nodded. He pulled out so Lan Zhan could turn around in the water and then casually ran a hand up and down his back until he got comfortable.

Lan Zhan settled on his knees and spread them apart. He backed up until he could reach Wei Wuxian’s cock with his hand and guide it inside him. When it was in he sat up straight and grabbed Wei Wuxian’s arms to wrap them around his waist.

"It is such an honour to have sex with you, you know that?" Wei Wuxian said. He nuzzled against the back of Lan Zhan's neck, pushing his hair to one side. He squeezed his waist as he slowly started to move again.

Lan Zhan tilted his head back again, unable to suppress a low grunt from how good it felt. The angle was just right, pressing against his sweet spot so nicely. “I do know,” he replied breathily.

"Good. You're impossibly beautiful and incredible," Wei Wuxian breathed. He rocked his hips to get a bit deeper inside before picking up the pace.

Lan Zhan was glad that the bath wasn’t filled up all the way, since the splash would otherwise get everywhere. He turned his head to press his cheek against Wei Wuxian’s and his hand snaked down to wrap around the base of his shaft. He was too sensitive but it wasn’t as bad if he avoided the head. “Last night I had a dream,” he began. “It was why I woke you up for a round.”

"Tell me about your dream," Wei Wuxian said and pulled him tighter against his body. It always aroused him when Lan Zhan said things like this.

Lan Zhan hummed, his lips quirking up a little. “I didn’t tell you before because you won’t like it,” he said. “But I found it arousing. Do you still want to know?”

That set Wei Wuxian a little on edge. What could he possibly fantasise about that he wouldn't like? "Tell me," he said.

“I dreamed that we were having sex in the alpha dorms,” Lan Zhan said, his voice low. “In one of those spots where there are cushions and shelves that they like to hang out in. And they were watching. I was dressed so they couldn’t see anything but they knew what was happening. And your scent was so aggressive...”

Even hearing it about it made Wei Wuxian grow a little. He squeezed Lan Zhan possessively. "Why do you want them to see you?" he asked.

Lan Zhan started to move his hips a little to meet Wei Wuxian halfway in each thrust. He had to put some thought into that question. He had pondered over this before. “I can tell you after we’re finished,” he said. “For now let’s say that I like being desired.”

"I desire you immensely," Wei Wuxian whispered. He kissed the back of his neck and chased his own ends.

“Are you telling me to stop talking about it?” Lan Zhan asked. He meant the question; he wanted to explore these fantasies more, but he wasn’t sure how Wei Wuxian felt about them.

Wei Wuxian shook his head. "No, I want you to... be able to tell me anything. Anything at all you desire. I just can't promise I can give you everything you want."

Lan Zhan hummed. “I don’t want anyone to watch me,” he said. “But I like to think about it. I can’t control other people but I can in my mind.”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian groaned. He could feel his orgasm approaching steadily. His thrusts began to stutter and falter. "Where... do you want me to cum?"

“Inside,” Lan Zhan said. He started to move a little more, making up for Wei Wuxian’s faltering.

"If I knot you, we'll be in the bath a while," Wei Wuxian mumbled.

“I still have to wash myself,” Lan Zhan said breathlessly. Cheekily he added, “Perhaps I want your knot.”

That only made Wei Wuxian fuck him with more vigour until he finally came. He pulled Lan Zhan as close as he could, getting deep inside him and moaning. His cock expanded and filled quickly, spreading Lan Zhan open.

Lan Zhan moaned quietly. The knot really did spread him open. He panted softly and gripped the edge of the tub. “Do you still want to know the answer to your question?” he asked.

"Yeah, I do," Wei Wuxian said between breaths. He rested his forehead against Lan Zhan's shoulder.

Lan Zhan settled down and took a washcloth and started to play with it while he thought. “I have thought about these things since we started having sex,” he said. ”I like to explore some things in my thoughts that have caused discomfort in my past. Like our pretend game. I have been the subject of alphas’ desires for many years and I feel as though I can control it now. In my mind.” He took the soap and rubbed it over the washcloth so he could slowly clean himself. “I enjoy being the subject of desire when I can control what becomes of it. Like a cat on top of a roof, watching the dogs cry because they can’t reach.”

That made sense. Wei Wuxian rubbed Lan Zhan's sides soothingly. "I get it, I think," he said. "It shouldn't be... out of reach for my magical capabilities some day to conjure us an audience. Then it's... not real. I don't have to feel possessive of you, you don't have to actually be seen by real people. It'd all be under control."

Lan Zhan hummed with interest. “You are skilled,” he said. “I would not be surprised if you could accomplish that one day.”

"I want to make you happy more than anything," Wei Wuxian confessed. He took a deep breath. "I want to indulge your every desire."

Lan Zhan shifted his upper body and turned his head so he could look at Wei Wuxian. “You can do that by talking,” he said. “I love your magic but you can paint any scene with your words and I would love it just as much.”

"I'll remember that," Wei Wuxian replied with a smile.


	42. Reckless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lan Zhan decides he wants Wei Wuxian there for his heat after all.

August came quickly and brought with it cold nights that had Lan Zhan wearing more layers in his room. He spent the first week preparing even before his preheat started. He laid out everything he would need and replaced the mattress in his nest. He had bags of snacks lined along the inside walls, and plenty of jugs of water. He selected the stuffed animals he wanted and lined them up outside the nest.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from obsessing over it all when his preheat hit. He was antsy, unable to relax at all. That was pretty normal for a preheat, but this time it was made worse by the anxiety of knowing that he wouldn’t have Wei Wuxian with him.

It became clear by the second night that he wasn’t going to make it. He had been telling himself that he could do it, but he just couldn’t stand it knowing that Wei Wuxian wasn’t too far away. Once he had finished crying for the third time in two hours, he came to a decision.

He didn’t care what his family thought. He loved Wei Wuxian and he wanted him to be there with him.

He got completely dressed and made his way to the alpha dorms as dinner was wrapping up for the rest of the school. He kept his scent locked up tight, though he wasn’t aware that alphas could detect a preheat scent no matter how strongly he pulled it in. So he was surprised when the room went deadly silent a moment after he entered. There were at least twenty alphas out in the common room and all of them had been talking until he walked in.

He didn’t pay them any mind; he intended to just go straight to Wei Wuxian and come right back out. And of course he was a fool for thinking that could happen. Four alphas approached him from the front. One of them, he recognized as a fourth-year named Li Bowen, had his hands outstretched.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

Lan Zhan felt a burst of annoyance and he shot him a fierce glare. “Get out of my way,” he snapped.

“Lan Zhan, you’re in preheat,” another alpha said.

Lan Zhan turned on him. “No shit,” he said. “Get away from me.”

He started walking again, but Li Bowen only backed up, holding his hands out on either side of him. “I’m sorry, but I’m _not_ letting you go up these stairs.”

This was much more complicated than it needed to be. Lan Zhan felt a wave of rage pass through him. “Do you not respect me?” he asked, feeling his throat get tight.

Li Bowen spread his fingers out. “I _do,_ Lan Zhan, but--”

“Then why won’t you let me make my own decision?” Lan Zhan asked. “Why does it matter if I’m in preheat or not? Who are you to tell me what to do?”

“Lan Zhan,” another alpha said, his voice careful.

 _”Don’t patronize me,”_ Lan Zhan seethed. He felt tears prick at his eyes and that only made this worse. He _hated_ crying in front of people. He looked back at Li Bowen. “Escort me up the stairs then,” he demanded.

Li Bowen shook his head. “Under no circumstances will you go up these stairs,” he said. “Who are you here for? Your brother? We can go get him and bring him down here.”

Lan Zhan’s bottom lip shook. He wanted to get through, he wanted to go himself because he _could._ But he was powerless. Preheat made him slow. He couldn’t take four alphas at once and win. “Wei Wuxian,” he said, defeated.

Li Bowen nodded at an alpha close to him. _”Fucking run,”_ he told him. The alpha nodded and booked it up the stairs. “Lan Zhan, all due respect but you can’t just--”

“Fuck off,” Lan Zhan raged at the alpha who had spoken to him. “Don’t claim to respect me then tell me what you think I should or shouldn’t do. Did I ask you?”

These alphas truly had never seen Lan Zhan act this way. Sure, he had cursed at an alpha before and was known for being stingy with his attention, but this was a whole other level. Not only was he cussing them out, he was _crying_ too.

As soon as Wei Wuxian caught word of Lan Zhan being downstairs, he ran down as fast as his legs could carry him and sure enough, there was Lan Zhan at the bottom. It took mere seconds for him to catch a whiff of Lan Zhan's preheat scent and he immediately went into protective mode, bristling and growling at all the surrounding alphas until they backed away from Lan Zhan.

"Lan Zhan," he said, marching over. He then spoke in a hushed whisper as he grabbed his wrist. "What are you doing here?"

Lan Zhan wanted to give in when he saw Wei Wuxian. He wanted to break down and cry and be supported by him. But even though he was in preheat, he had a shred of dignity left in him.

“I changed my mind,” he said.

“You do know the rules about heat, right? You cannot be in here.” Li Bowen said. He had backed away when Wei Wuxian showed up, but only a few steps.

Lan Zhan‘s annoyance came back in full force. When he spoke his words had a low growl beneath them, _“He’s my fiancé.”_

"Right. Okay. You are _not_ staying here. Come on," Wei Wuxian said. He grabbed Lan Zhan and crouched to scoop him up into his arms, bridal style. Without another word, he strolled quickly out of the alpha dorms and hurried towards the omega one. "Open the door for me."

Lan Zhan had his keys ready and unlocked the door and pulled it open. He felt better, but only marginally. He still felt somewhat like a cornered animal. He didn’t fight being carried, though he wasn’t sure Wei Wuxian would be able to carry him up all four flights. He definitely wouldn’t complain.

It was tiring but Wei Wuxian pressed on, carrying him all the way up the four flights of stairs until they reached Lan Zhan's room. He set him down in his nest when they arrived and took a deep breath.

"Fuck, why do you have to be on the fourth floor?" he panted.

Lan Zhan stretched out, feeling a lot better now that he was in his nest and his mission was accomplished. He had kicked off his boots at the door with Wei Wuxian but now he started to slowly undress the rest of the way.

“It is good exercise,” he said.

"Okay but first of all, are you _insane?_ Lan Zhan? What were you thinking coming to the alpha dorms when you're in preheat? Do you realise how dangerous that is? What if I hadn't been there?" Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan should have expected the lecture. He pointedly ignored it if only to mutter, “I should be able to do what I want.”

Wei Wuxian began to pace outside Lan Zhan's nest. "Yeah, you should know I'm in full support of you doing whatever you want. I wish that you didn't get harassed for coming to the alpha dorms but that's just not the reality right now and you need to take care of yourself. I'd _never_ forgive myself if something happened to you because you came to see me. Speaking of which, why _did_ you come to see me?"

When Lan Zhan was in his underwear he gathered his clothes and got out of his nest so he could go put them away. He didn’t answer the question until he had come back in a silk night robe.

“I changed my mind,” he said. “I want you to be here. I don’t care if my family is angry.”

" _I_ _care_ if your family is angry. I mean, fuck Lan Zhan, I want to be on their good side because I want to marry you! I _love_ you and I want your family to like me. I don't exactly have the best history of getting along with families who take me in as one of their own," Wei Wuxian said. He shook his head.

Lan Zhan started to organize his nest again. “We still have those potions,” he said. “Go to my mother and tell her that I changed my mind and that you promise to take care of me. You can tell da-ge first, he might not be as scary.”

"I will do my rounds. In the meantime," Wei Wuxian said. He took off his jacket and tossed it in the nest with Lan Zhan. "Something covered in my scent. Have this until I get back, okay?"

Lan Zhan took it gratefully. “Thank you. Bring back the silk blankets I gave you too,” he said. The jacket wasn’t the right material for his nest, but the scent was enough for him to keep it. He spread it out on the side and put a few stuffed animals around it. “And can you bring me a dessert if they have any in the kitchen?”

"You got it," Wei Wuxian said with a nod. He hurried out of the room and headed back to the alpha dorms. With a deep breath, he made his way up to the top floor where Lan Xichen stayed. He knocked on the door and rocked back and forth nervously on his heels.

People knocking on his door wasn’t a rare occurrence, so Lan Xichen wasn’t sure who to expect. He was pleasantly surprised to see Wei Wuxian, though. He opened the door to let him in and said, “Come in.” His mind was reeling, thinking of what he could be here for. Undoubtedly it was about Lan Zhan.

"Hi!" Wei Wuxian came inside and then fidgeted slightly on the spot. "So um. Can I talk to you quickly about Lan Zhan?"

Lan Xichen nodded and went to go sit at the desk closest to the door. “Of course,” he said. “He is going to go into heat in the next few days, I believe. I brought him his food today.”

"Yeah. Trust me, I know. The plan was that we were going to spend his heat apart. And I was ready to honour that but... I don't know if you heard the commotion but he came to the alpha dorms in his preheat because he changed his mind. I took him out of here as soon as I could and carried him back to his room," Wei Wuxian explained. "He's very persistent about spending it with me and the last thing I want is for him to put himself in danger again coming after me. But I don't want to disrespect any of his family so I am... asking for permission to look after him while he's in heat."

Lan Xichen’s pleasant expression slowly morphed into horror. Lan Zhan came to the alpha dorms? That sounded so unlike him, he usually would never pull such a blatantly shameless act... but at the same time, Lan Zhan was extremely stubborn when he wanted to be.

“I see,” he said quietly after a moment. His little brother was proving to be quite difficult. “Well, you have my permission. You were wise to come to me, since Mother and Uncle will be more difficult to convince. I assume you still have the contraceptives I gave you?”

"I do. I plan to go see your mother after this... Do you think she'll bite my head off?" Wei Wuxian asked.

Lan Xichen pressed his lips together for a second. “Perhaps I should accompany you,” he said. “You will need a key to get into that area anyway.”

"If you don't mind..." Wei Wuxian said. He bowed politely towards Lan Xichen. "I would be grateful."

Lan Xichen nodded and stood up. “Let’s not waste time then,” he said. “It would be best for me to speak with her before you do, unless she specifically addresses you.”

"Thank you," Wei Wuxian said. He followed Lan Xichen out of the room when he was ready. He stopped briefly on the way down to go to his room and grab a bag and the silk sheets he'd scented for Lan Zhan. He shoved them inside and then hurried back out to follow Lan Xichen to where Lan Xia was.

Lan Xichen paused outside the door to the residential area of the building to take a moment to breathe and gather his thoughts before he unlocked it and went inside.

Xia hadn’t retired for the evening yet. She was working on something at the dinner table when the two walked in. She seemed surprised to see them, then apprehensive.

When she didn’t speak first, Lan Xichen did. “Mother… Wei Wuxian came to me with a request.” Quieter, eyes flicking around the room he asked, “Is Uncle around?”

Lan Xia shifted in her seat and folded her hands in her lap. “He is in his office still,” she said. “Why? What’s wrong?”

She glanced between Lan Xichen and Wei Wuxian, expression troubled. Lan Xichen walked forward to sit at the table. “Mother, this is a delicate situation, so I beg that you won’t panic.”

“You’re scaring me, A-Huan,” Lan Xia said.

“Lan Zhan went into the alpha dorms a little while ago,” Lan Xichen said. “He was looking for Wei Wuxian. Apparently he had changed his mind since your conversation with him.”

Lan Xia froze, her mouth agape.

“Mother,” Lan Xichen said like he was approaching a scared animal, “I know this is shocking. But now is not the time to be angry.”

Lan Xia shut her mouth, leveling him with a sharp gaze. “I know you are the alpha of the family next to your Uncle but I am still your mother, young man.”

Lan Xichen bowed his head. “I understand,” he said. “I apologize. I simply believe that since Lan Zhan is in preheat we should consider waiting until he is of sound mind to have this conversation with him.”

Lan Xia turned her gaze to Wei Wuxian, then back at her son. “So I see Lan Zhan has decided that I mean nothing to him and he will do what he wants regardless of his family’s wishes,” she said.

Lan Xichen smiled a little, placating. He knew his mother acted out like this when she was angry. She just needed to settle… “I think he is having his teenage rebellion a few years late,” he said. “Since he is going to be married soon, I believe that we should handle this carefully.”

Lan Xia sighed forcefully and leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. She stayed like that for a brief moment, then sat back and gave Wei Wuxian a heavy stare. She liked Wei Wuxian, even though she was unsure about whether she could trust him or not. He had brought Lan Zhan back in one piece, sure, but he had also whisked him away for a month on not even a moment’s notice.

“So I’m assuming you’re going to spend the next week with him,” she said. “Do you have contraceptives?”

"Yes," Wei Wuxian said. He bowed his head towards her. "This is... not what I would have chosen. When he came to the alpha dorms, as soon as I found out, I took him back to his room. He was insistent on me spending the heat with him even though I didn't want to go against his family's wishes. I'm mostly worried that if I say no, he'll put himself in danger again. So... it was only right for me to ask permission from his family to look after him."

Lan Xia pressed her lips together, eyes narrowed. She hated to say yes and reward Lan Zhan for such reprehensible behavior. But who was to say he wouldn’t walk out in the full throes of heat in defiance? She looked at Lan Xichen, who was giving her an expectant look, then looked down and shook her head. “Fine,” she said. “You best use those contraceptives like it’s your religion.”

"I will! I will, I promise. You have my word," Wei Wuxian replied. He nodded quickly. "Thank you so much."

Lan Xia sighed and started to sort through her papers again. “Go on then,” she said.

Lan Xichen stood up and bowed to her and waited for Wei Wuxian to join him before he headed back to the door.

“I will stay here for a little while,” he said quietly. “I’ll go see your professors in the morning and get their assignments for you, since I am familiar with them. I’ll bring them with the meals throughout the week, and you can put any finished work you manage to do outside the door.”

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath and nodded again. He bowed towards him once again. "Really, thank you so much. I will take good care of Lan Zhan."

Lan Xichen nodded. “I know you will,” he said. “Thank you for being diligent. If you happen to see Uncle on your way, pay him no mind. He doesn’t need to know.”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian replied. He smiled at Lan Xichen and then made his way over to the kitchen. Lan Zhan had wanted a dessert so he picked one up and put it in his bag with the sheets. He also picked up some snacks and drinks and then headed back to Lan Zhan's room.

Lan Zhan had pulled everything out of his nest again, including the jacket which he now had tied around his shoulders. He was securing the nest’s cover up at the top of the pyramid when Wei Wuxian returned. He excitedly walked over to him. “Did they have any dessert?” he asked.

"Yeah," Wei Wuxian said. He put his bag on the bed and opened it up to take everything out. He placed the dessert, the snacks, the drinks, and the sheets. "Here's everything I got."

Lan Zhan purred loudly without a care. How could he have even considered kicking Wei Wuxian out? He eyed the sheets eagerly but he resisted the urge to pick them up and smell them. If he did he would surely spend the next hour or two sorting them in his nest. He needed to enjoy his food first. He sat down on the bed and picked up the dessert. Upon closer inspection he saw that it was an apple pie.

“Thank you,” he rumbled, still purring even as he opened his mouth to eat. He rocked side to side in childish enjoyment of the taste.

Wei Wuxian's gaze softened when he watched Lan Zhan. He was so cute... it was hard to be mad at him. How could he possibly resist the urge to want to look after him anyway? "Anything for my omega," he said and leaned over to press a gentle kiss on the side of Lan Zhan's head.

Lan Zhan purred louder for a second and then quieted it to a soft vibration in his throat. He finished his dessert slowly, taking care to enjoy every bite as fully as he could. “Everyone noticed my scent immediately,” he said curiously between bites. “I was hiding it quite well. Usually you would have to be very close to detect it.”

"I was told that you were freaking out when you came to the alpha dorms. Did that have something to do with it?" Wei Wuxian asked. He sat down next to him on the bed.

Lan Zhan shook his head. “M-mm. I was mad that they were treating me like I was ten years old.” He took another small bite and savored it, then he said, “I am not restricting my scent now. How strong is it to you?”

Wei Wuxian leaned in to take a deep inhale of Lan Zhan's scent. "It's pretty strong. Stronger than usual."

Lan Zhan hummed. He couldn’t actually tell much of a difference between his normal scent and preheat scent. It was a little stronger, but that was it. Maybe alphas could smell it better than him... that would explain why all the alphas on that floor had known as soon as he walked in. “Is it any different?” he asked. “It doesn’t change to be more sweet until my heat. But maybe alphas smell things that I don’t.”

"You can tell it's starting to sweeten. It's not totally obvious unless you're kind of close but it's definitely stronger from afar," Wei Wuxian said. "Which is enough of a telling sign."

Lan Zhan hummed in response as he finished his pie and then stood up. He went to the sink to wash the dish and spoon, then set it on the shelf where he kept dishes before taking them back to the main building. Then he returned to the bed and picked up the silk sheets.

He brought them to his face and breathed in and started purring again. He turned and trotted excitedly to his nest and laid out each sheet next to the stuffed animals that were neatly lined up outside of it. He took one of them and spread it out over the towels he had put down, securing the edges so it would stay taut. Then he started to organize the other sheets in the nest, putting a great deal of thought into it.

"It's adorable how you do that," Wei Wuxian commented as he watched Lan Zhan work. He smiled to himself.

“It is very important,” Lan Zhan said absently. He spent the next hour organizing his nest, adjusting the placements of his stuffed animals and sheets, then he went about cleaning his room. He had already washed everything that was dirty, so he used vinegar to clean his tables and shelves and the bathroom. He even scrubbed the bathtub. Really it was just his need to make everything orderly and perfect. When he was done he drew a bath and sat in it, calling out to Wei Wuxian, “Come here.”

Wei Wuxian walked over and idly started running his fingers through Lan Zhan's hair. "Do you want me to wash you?"

"I want you to get in with me," Lan Zhan said. "So we can both smell nice." He picked out his favorite soap that had the flower petals in it and started to rub it over his skin.

"You love the way I smell," Wei Wuxian argued. He chuckled and started to undress. Once he had taken everything off, he got into the tub with Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan scooted over to sit right next to him, leaning against his arm. He scrubbed himself down and then gave the soap to Wei Wuxian, then sat up on his knees and bent over to dunk the top of his head in the water. "I am more sensitive to dirt or grime or lingering scents of others when I am in preheat," he said. "My heat should start tomorrow and then I will not care about how we smell for a week."

"What made you change your mind about spending it with me?" Wei Wuxian asked. Lan Zhan obviously knew that his family would be unhappy with this choice.

Lan Zhan took the soap he used for his hair and started to rub it along his roots. He wasn't sure how to answer the question while keeping his dignity. "I am emotionally unstable during this time," he said vaguely.

"Right but obviously it was a big decision to come running into the alpha dorms," Wei Wuxian replied. He started to scrub himself down with the soap.

Lan Zhan thought the best time to say it was when he had his head bent over so he wouldn't have to look at Wei Wuxian. "Any time I thought about you I cried," he said. "I could not get anything done."

"Oh Lan Zhan..." Wei Wuxian said softly. He suddenly felt bad about being so hard on him about it. Crying over him? He wrapped his arms tight around him and pulled him close.

Lan Zhan huffed and pulled his head up, parting his hair so he could see. "I could have waited for you to bring my sheets but I was afraid that I would miss it and I had to stop and cry three times in two hours and I couldn't even do anything else at the same time. It was annoying." And devastating and miserable, but he didn't say that. He handed Wei Wuxian his hair soap and said, "Wash it for me?"

"Of course," Wei Wuxian said. He took the hair soap and started to run it through Lan Zhan's hair. "You know I'm not mad at you, right? I love you and I just want the best for you and what will keep things positive between me and your family."

Lan Zhan hummed. He closed his eyes, enjoying the way Wei Wuxian’s hands felt in his hair. “I don’t think my mother knows what I need anymore,” he said quietly.

It was a difficult thing to admit. He knew that other young adults and teenagers felt this way often, but he had been raised to follow his family’s wishes like any respectable child. He had never really felt the need to go against them.

"She just doesn't want the same thing to happen to you as what happened to her. In her eyes, you're still her little baby boy. I mean, this is your first relationship, isn't it?" Wei Wuxian said.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan nodded. “She never loved my father. She says she prefers to have close friends rather than a mate. She does not understand.”

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath. "Well, I hope that she will some day see just how much I love you and how I intend to spend my whole life with you, through marriage and children."

Lan Zhan turned his head and placed a little kiss on Wei Wuxian’s chin. “I hope she sees my devotion as well,” he murmured. “But if she does not then no matter.”

"I'm going to do my best to not let myself get too caught up in your heat so you can still experience me in rut when your head is more clear," Wei Wuxian mentioned, smiling at the kiss.

Lan Zhan hummed, hiding his interest. “I don’t think you will be able to resist,” he said after a moment. “You remember how pathetic I was last time.”

Wei Wuxian wondered just how far he would be able to push Lan Zhan when he went into heat. What could he get him to say or do? It sent a spark of arousal through his body. "We'll see," he said.

Lan Zhan pulled the plug on the bath and then turned on the faucet so he could duck his head under and scrub the soap out. “Do you want me to wash your hair too?” he asked.

"Please," Wei Wuxian said. He pulled his hair free from his ponytail and got it wet before he turned around so Lan Zhan could wash his hair.

Lan Zhan finished rinsing out his own hair and then put the plug back in the tub and turned off the faucet. He got his soap and started to rub it into Wei Wuxian’s roots. “I made something to wear during my heat,” he said.

"Oh? Is it sexy?" Wei Wuxian asked with a playful lilt to his voice. He chuckled to himself.

“Maybe,” Lan Zhan said, cupping his hands in the water and dumping it on Wei Wuxian’s head so he could suds up the soap better. “You will probably like it because it is revealing. I made it because I don’t like to be completely covered in heat but I need something so I don’t feel too exposed.”

Wei Wuxian let out a pleased hum. "I'm looking forward to seeing it. That said, anything looks beautiful on you."

Lan Zhan pulled the plug on the bath again and turned on the faucet. He guided Wei Wuxian’s head under and scrubbed out the soap for him. “I will put it on tonight because my heat should start tomorrow,” he said quietly, “but I will wear a robe over it because I don’t want to give you ideas yet.”

Wei Wuxian pouted at him. "But I'm your mate. I deserve to see, don't I?" he asked.

Lan Zhan was quiet while he turned off the faucet and stood up, pulling a towel over to dry his hair and body. “You can watch me put it on,” he said after some thought.

"Okay," Wei Wuxian said. He grinned and got out of the tub. He dried off as well and then pulled on his pants.

Lan Zhan wanted to roll his eyes. He was sure Wei Wuxian would be horny about it, but no matter. He put his hair up in the towel and took the garment from where it was hanging. It was made of white silk, and was nothing but a dudou attached to the same kind of circle skirt he’d made for Wei Wuxian. It would be breezy between his legs and also against his bare back. It was also held together in the front by a string that attached to the the strap that went around his neck, and another string that attached to the top right of the skirt and then two more down to the bottom. That way he could easily take it off if he got too hot. He wrapped the strap around his neck and tied it to the front, then wrapped the skirt around him and tied that together. He didn’t have to turn around to know Wei Wuxian was staring.

How had Wei Wuxian gotten so lucky? Lan Zhan was so incredibly beautiful and even more so in that cute, revealing outfit... He'd love him in just about anything but seeing him like this was always a treat. "You're such a tease," he said.

“You’re the one who wanted to see it,” Lan Zhan said. He put a night robe on over it and went to the stand beside his tub and got out the hair oil. He dipped his comb into it and tapped off the excess, then started to comb it through his hair. “Don’t go anywhere, I will do this to you next.”

"I'm not going anywhere," Wei Wuxian said, putting his hands up. He came up behind Lan Zhan and ran his hands over Lan Zhan's shoulders.

When Lan Zhan was finished, he put more oil on his comb and turned around so he could brush it into Wei Wuxian’s hair. It was so much different than his own, it bent this way and that and curled at the bottom. His hair didn’t do that, not even when it was wet. He liked how different it looked. “You can sleep in the nest but only by the entrance,” he said. “I will be there too. I have to keep the rest in order.”

"Okay. Thank you," Wei Wuxian said. he slid his palm along Lan Zhan's cheek and cupped it gently, rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone before leaning in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan’s lips parted and he met him halfway. He kept it short and sweet, pulling away after a moment.

They didn’t go to bed right away; Lan Zhan had Wei Wuxian help nurture his plants, then he organized his homework at his desk before pulling Wei Wuxian into his nest. He slept much better with Wei Wuxian’s arms around him.


	43. Reprieve

The next day was uneventful. Lan Zhan spent much of it at his desk working on his homework and he pressured Wei Wuxian into doing the same. He found that due to his preheat he enjoyed his child rearing homework a lot more than usual. He would be reading about how to teach babies to walk and a croon would pop out of nowhere. He took advantage of that and worked on writing his papers about childhood.

He took care of his plants one last time and then crawled into his nest and read one of the books he had stashed in there until he got tired. He had expected his heat to start that day, but it didn’t actually come until sometime that night.

It was more miserable than usual. He woke up with a fever and an aching body. He took off his robe and crawled away from Wei Wuxian, groaning quietly in complaint, but soon he was wrapping himself in the sheets and shivering with a cold sweat.

The desire between his legs was only secondary to the pain and discomfort in the rest of his body. Trying to initiate sex required too much energy. He only remembered laying there and letting out miserable little moans for a while until he miraculously fell asleep again.

Of course Wei Wuxian closed the distance by the time he woke up in the morning. That was nothing new, though it was a blessing and a curse at the moment. He wanted to get away and cool down his overheated body, but also... Wei Wuxian smelled _really_ good... He felt a little trail of slick down his thigh.

The body aches weren’t as bad to the point where he wanted to cry, but they still made his whole body throb with pain. He didn’t know why his heats were this bad. He knew that not all omegas had pain like this. Usually he would solve this with damp cloths on his forehead and drinking lots of water until the fever went down, but now he had a very convenient solution that was currently attached to him like a monkey.

He gathered up his strength to push Wei Wuxian onto his back, then had to gather more strength to climb on top of him. His body protested the effort, but he sternly told it that it was necessary. He tugged down Wei Wuxian’s pants and got his cock free (of course it was already hard) and easily slid down on it. It went in so easily, and it filled him up so well... he let out a quiet, wavering whimper and went limp on top of Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian stirred as soon as he felt the wet heat envelope him. He let out a groan and his eyes fluttered open, noticing Lan Zhan on his lap. Of course. His heat scent filled his nostrils and made his cock twitch.

But there was a more pressing matter at hand. He summoned a small tentacle just to grab one of the contraceptive potions they had stored and let it dissipate as soon as it was in his hand.

He nudged Lan Zhan. "Lan Zhan..." he whispered breathily. "Hey. Come on. Drink this first." He prodded the potion against him.

Lan Zhan turned his head and looked at the potion. It took a moment for him to understand what he was seeing, but he took it and forced himself to sit up just enough on his forearm and carefully uncork it and drink it. He managed to put the cork back in and put it in Wei Wuxian’s hand before he plopped back down on top of him with a miserable little moan.

"Good boy," Wei Wuxian said softly. He flipped them around when Lan Zhan flopped on him, nestling Lan Zhan in all the blankets and tiredly beginning to thrust in and out of him.

Lan Zhan had a hard time holding his legs up, even though it felt good inside him. He made a noise of complaint and tried to straighten them out. “Can’t...” he said. “Roll me over.”

Wei Wuxian obeyed. He pulled out for a moment before turning Lan Zhan onto his stomach. It didn't take him long to mount him again and thrust inside with a long moan.

Lan Zhan liked this position a lot better. He was completely limp and just lay there and enjoyed it. His body still hurt, but it was easy to think past that with the pleasure seeping in next to it. He only tensed up when he came not thirty seconds in. It felt somewhat painful and muted, but also like a delicious stretch. He moaned helplessly.

"You're doing so well Lan Zhan..." Wei Wuxian mumbled as he leaned down to kiss the back of his shoulder. He kept his arms wrapped around him, thrusting harder and faster now.

Lan Zhan took it gratefully. He whimpered while he reached up to pull his hair over his shoulder and expose his back. He had forgotten to braid his hair so it was in the way, covering the skin that he needed to let breathe. He was glad he had made this outfit.

Wei Wuxian eagerly pressed kisses all over every bit of skin he could reach with his lips before settling by nuzzling against his neck.

Lan Zhan just closed his eyes. He was too weak to try and get more out of it at the moment, and he was content to passively enjoy it. Once his fever went down he would feel a lot better.

It didn't take Wei Wuxian too long to finish. He groaned as he pumped into him while he came and then his knot slowly filled Lan Zhan.

The knot felt _amazing._ Lan Zhan could only whimper quietly and shudder. Relief flooded him and he waited for the fever to recede. It wasn’t happening fast enough. After a moment he let out a long, pained moan. He considered whether he was actually sick and that was causing the fever... he sent a bit of magic through his body but didn’t sense any disturbance other than the elevated temperature. Maybe it would just take longer?

"You okay, baby?" Wei Wuxian mumbled against his skin. He kissed his neck softly and rubbed his hands up and down his sides.

“Have to wait for the fever to go down,” Lan Zhan mumbled. “It’s worse than usual.” He didn’t often feel the need to whine about things; not about _real_ things, anyway. He would rather hide pain than show it. But there was something about heats that made him want to cry until the whole world took pity on him. But being pathetic during his heat was nothing new.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Wei Wuxian asked. "Anything I can get you or...?"

Lan Zhan thought for a moment. “Can you get me that jug of water and a washcloth?” he asked, pointing to the corner of his nest where he put those items.

Wei Wuxian hummed in approval. He let his tentacles form again so he could retrieve the jug of water and washcloth. Once he had a grip on them, he brought them over to Lan Zhan and then let the tentacles dissipate.

Lan Zhan took them gratefully and forced himself to sit up on his forearms. He poured a little bit of water into the washcloth until it was damp and then he drank some. He set the jug between the mattress and the side of the nest and then twisted his upper half to lay sideways. He draped the damp cloth over his forehead and closed his eyes. The aching was already getting a little better.

“Usually the first day is the worst and it gets better,” he said.

"We've done this before. It'll be okay," Wei Wuxian said, unsure whether it actually helped to say things he deemed reassuring.

It did help. Lan Zhan hummed and then sighed heavily. He was exhausted. Maybe he could sleep the first day away, or at least nap until he felt better. He was glad that he had Wei Wuxian with him to help care for him either way.

Wei Wuxian looked after Lan Zhan the following days. It was proving harder than he thought to stay a fair distance from him and remain impassive to him in his heat. He didn't want to go into rut just yet and he knew that Lan Zhan would thank him for it. To take his mind off things, Wei Wuxian tried to focus on doing his homework, even as Lan Zhan whined and cried around him.

As it turned out, having Wei Wuxian around didn’t make his heat an amazing experience. Not at first, anyway. Lan Zhan’s fever stayed constant for the first day and a half, though the aching and delirious feeling subsided after he was knotted. He spent a lot of time sleeping and drinking water, trying to get his temperature down.

The cold sweats were the worst, shivering so bad his teeth clicked but knowing he was too overheated to cover up in more than a single sheet. He’d had heats like this before, so he wasn’t too concerned about it, even though he was generous with his complaining and crying. It actually made him feel better to groan and moan until he fell asleep, even though it was something he would never do normally.

After the second day, the fever gradually lowered. It was still there, as heats always included at least some elevated temperature, but he wasn’t constantly miserable anymore. The ache was less painful and more of _desire_ than anything else. He could actually focus on sex without being distracted by the sick feeling.

It also made him focus on the fact that Wei Wuxian was avoiding him. Whereas he couldn’t care less before, now having his alpha out of his nest was devastating. He woke up from a nap and realized Wei Wuxian was gone, and let out a loud whine. There was no answer (probably because he had been making similar noises since his heat started), so he forced himself to sit up, holding himself up on his hands so he could see over the nest’s rails.

Wei Wuxian was sitting at the desk closest to the nest (which was still too far away), his back turned. What was he doing?

“Wei Wuxian,” he said, loud enough that he knew Wei Wuxian would hear him from all the way over there.

"What can I get you?" Wei Wuxian asked without looking up from his homework. He was used to getting up and grabbing Lan Zhan something to eat or drink, sometimes assisting him with his bath.

“I need you,” Lan Zhan said shamelessly. He spread his legs as though it might entice Wei Wuxian to come over, even though 1) his back was turned, and 2) the railing of the nest hid everything from below his chest anyway. He pulled up the skirt of his dress and looked between his legs. He couldn’t see the opening, though he knew it was swollen and wet. He wasn’t even hard and yet desire pumped through his body. He reached for a washcloth that he’d been using to cool his forehead an started to wipe the slick from his thighs.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath. Such a needy voice coming from his omega prickled his alpha instincts but he tried his best to resist. He glanced over at Lan Zhan and summoned his tentacles to wiggle their way over to him. They slid around Lan Zhan's waist and thighs, nuzzling against his skin. Wei Wuxian looked back at his work.

That was a smart move; Lan Zhan was effectively distracted. He grabbed two of them, popping one in his mouth and pulling the other closer so he could squeeze and stretch it. WIth Wei Wuxian’s back turned he gave an experimental pinch to the one in his hands, then a harder one. Clearly Wei Wuxian hadn’t figured out how to feel them yet, so he started to chew on the one in his mouth. He felt sneaky and smug about it.

It only lasted a few minutes, though. He eventually got bored and let the tentacle fall from his mouth. “Wei Wuxian,” he said again, this time in a stern tone.

Wei Wuxian sighed dramatically. He let the tentacles dissipate and then he collected his things. He climbed into the nest with his homework and looked at him. "Go on, turn over," he said.

Lan Zhan glared at the homework and wanted to growl at it like it was a person intruding on his nest. What, was he going to do his homework while doing Lan Zhan? “Turn me over yourself,” he said, feeling grumpy.

Wei Wuxian put down his things and grabbed Lan Zhan's cheeks. "Come here Mr. Grumpy." He leaned in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth and kissed him back fervently. He spread his legs again and then went limp, falling onto his back and looking up at him expectantly.

Wei Wuxian picked up one of Lan Zhan's legs and kissed down his thigh before grabbing hold of him to turn him onto his stomach. "You're so wet," he hummed as he dragged his fingers through the slick dripping out of Lan Zhan's entrance. He pushed two of his fingers inside.

Lan Zhan moaned, though this time it was from satisfaction and not pain. He spread his knees apart and then wiggled them up bit by bit so he could lift his hips in the air.

"Good boy," Wei Wuxian praised. He dug his fingers in deeper and thrust them in and out. "Listen to how wet you are."

Shocks and tingles of pleasure flowed through Lan Zhan’s body and he muffled another moan in the sheets. He felt so good, he would do just about anything to keep feeling this way. He didn’t even care about being called a good boy.

"You want my cock, baby?" Wei Wuxian cooed. He rubbed his other hand up and down Lan Zhan's back as he kept up the pace.

Lan Zhan’s hips rocked back a little when he heard that. “Yes,” he said breathlessly. He loved those fingers, but he wanted to be _filled up._

Wei Wuxian pulled his fingers out of him and shuffled to pull his cock out of his pants. He gave it a few strokes before lining up and pushing himself inside with a moan.

Lan Zhan moaned with him, his thighs wavering with the effort to keep his hips in the air. The way the girth spread him open made his whole body tingle with pleasure.

"Stay still for me, okay? I'll do all the work," Wei Wuxian told him softly as he sunk all the way to the hilt.

Lan Zhan gave him a quieter moan in response. He didn’t mind staying still; he wasn’t sure how much he could move around anyway.

Wei Wuxian hummed in approval. He steadily started to move inside him, giving hard thrusts but being careful not to jostle Lan Zhan too much. After a few moments, he quietly grabbed his homework and rested it on Lan Zhan's back. It was a good distraction from letting himself get too caught up in his heat.

The starkly cold paper actually felt good on Lan Zhan’s back, but he didn’t let that stop him from being grumpy about it. He let out a low but unmistakable warning growl aimed at the homework. He wasn’t willing to fight about it, not at the moment when he still had Wei Wuxian’s cock in him. _Maybe if he’s distracted he‘ll fuck me for longer,_ he tried to reason with his feral self.

Wei Wuxian balanced one hand on Lan Zhan's hip to keep him steady while the other began to write on the paper he'd placed on his back. "That's it. You feel so good, Lan Zhan," he breathed.

Lan Zhan wondered if those words were empty platitudes. He let out another growl and pulled a pillow over so he could shuffle it under his upper body and rest on it. His heat-influenced mind turned to a nonsensical direction, playing with the idea of the homework actually being an invading alpha that was taking advantage. He growled a little louder in response to it.

"What's wrong?" Wei Wuxian asked. The hand on his hip slid under Lan Zhan's body to stroke his cock.

That was enough to send Lan Zhan over, completely forgetting about the homework. He shivered and his knees slid open a little more as he came with a shaky moan.

"Cum already?" Wei Wuxian teased with a little laugh. He kept stroking Lan Zhan's sensitive cock as he thrust in and out of him, his mind mostly occupied on the homework he was doing on his back.

Lan Zhan couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He forced himself to his hands and folded his pillow in half, then shoved it down under his hips to hold them up for him. Then he grabbed another pillow and put it under his top half so he could hug it. This way he could just lay there like a rag doll.

Wei Wuxian kept up the pace until Lan Zhan came again. Then, he felt himself growing close. He tossed the homework aside for the moment and fully leaned over Lan Zhan's body, fucking in faster now as he chased his own orgasm. It didn't take much more for him to cum with a moan of Lan Zhan's name, spilling hot inside him and his knot expanding inside him.

Lan Zhan let out a whine. He was sensitive but deliciously so, the knot pushing him through a third orgasm. It was so tight inside him, filling him up exactly the way that he needed to be.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against Lan Zhan's shoulder blades. "You okay?" he asked.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan turned his head to look at the homework Wei Wuxian had thrown to the side. “What were you working on?”

"Wang Laoshi has been assigning me extra work for conjuration given what my goals are," Wei Wuxian said. "It's hard work."

Lan Zhan hummed. Feeling a little better, he pulled the homework over to him curiously. “Tell me about it,” he said. “It will help you learn.”

Wei Wuxian nodded and started to go into the details. He idly rubbed his hands up and down Lan Zhan's sides while he waited for his knot to go down.

It was hard for Wei Wuxian keep himself from going into rut through Lan Zhan's heat. With each time he got a deep inhale of his heat scent, he got a little closer, but he'd settle down his arousal by thinking of something far less erotic than Lan Zhan, like Lan Zhan's uncle, for example.

He was feeling quite proud of himself that he'd spent most of the week fully sane. He'd been able to look after Lan Zhan well, between doing his homework and taking care of him. But as he roused on the final day of Lan Zhan's heat, cuddled up to him in his nest, he felt a familiar heat in his gut. When he woke, blearily he stared at the exposed skin of Lan Zhan's neck where he was cuddled up to him. He pulled him closer and let out a growl.

Lan Zhan woke at the same time as a shiver went through him. The overpowering scent and the growl combined to elicit the strongest, most primal instinct in him so far in his heat. He was too sleepy to process what was happening for a solid minute, he just found himself going limp except to bare his neck and open his legs. He felt a light gush of slick seep out of him, already so quickly aroused by the rut.

The noise that came out of him surprised him. It was a high pitched thrum, somewhere between a moan and a purr. He knew what it _was,_ but he’d never made a mating call before. He thought it was only something that happened in books. It was a lot quieter than he had expected judging by the things he’d read but then again, his alpha was right next to him and there was no need to keen loudly.

Wei Wuxian of course responded very positively to this noise. It woke him up immediately and he climbed on top of Lan Zhan. He grinded his erection against him, moaning and growling as he did.

Lan Zhan turned his head to the side and bared his neck even more. He lifted his legs and spread them, trying to present himself. Another keen forced its way out of him and he didn’t stop it. If it encouraged Wei Wuxian to act, then that was a good thing.

There was not a second more of hesitation. Wei Wuxian leaned in and bit Lan Zhan's neck, forming a soft claim, but he left it long enough that it would last a few weeks at least. Then, he took out his cock and eased it inside Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan moaned and grabbed Wei Wuxian’s arms to anchor himself. The scent was going to be the death of him; it was so powerful and musky, and combined with his own heat scent and the smell of sex around them was enough to have him shivering and needy. He definitely wasn’t going to last long.

"Fuck... _Fuck_ Lan Zhan... I can't help myself," Wei Wuxian breathed. He buried his face against his neck and took another deep inhale of his scent. That encouraged him to start fucking in hard and fast.

Lan Zhan moaned again, though this time it was punctuated with each hard slam of Wei Wuxian’s hips. He was right; it was only ten seconds before he came already, pulling himself up to curl around Wei Wuxian as he did.

“Alpha,” he whined when he fell back, overwhelmed by it all.

That made Wei Wuxian growl protectively again. He wrapped his arms properly around Lan Zhan to pull him against his chest. This was _his_ omega.

Lan Zhan liked behind held like this. He wrapped his legs around Wei Wuxian’s waist and tucked his folded hands between their chests. He buried his nose in Wei Wuxian’s neck, trying to get as much of his scent as he could.

Wei Wuxian wasn't going to last long either. He went as hard and fast as he could before he came inside him with a long moan. His knot expanded fast and he pumped several loads of cum inside him.

It was so much... Lan Zhan could feel it filling him up and seeping around Wei Wuxian’s cock. He whimpered quietly.

"Oh Gods..." Wei Wuxian breathed. It just kept coming, as was typical with his rut. He summoned his tentacles to grab one of the contraceptive potions they had stored and he urged it in Lan Zhan's hands.

Lan Zhan drank it quickly and then tossed the bottle out of the nest. He didn’t like the taste of it, but it was necessary. Especially with how much Wei Wuxian was pumping into him. Surely it would all pour out of him when the knot went down.

“You lasted a long time,” he said, referring to his rut. “How did you wait this long?”

"I don't know, I just... tried to keep my hormones at bay. And whenever I got too strong of a scent from you, I just tried to think of things that turned me off," Wei Wuxian said. He nuzzled against his neck.

Lan Zhan blinked. He just _willed_ himself not to go into rut? “That is impressive,” he said.

"I was hoping to make it to the end of your heat," Wei Wuxian said. He licked over the soft claim he'd made. "But I guess I couldn't."

Lan Zhan looked away, giving him some room. “It shouldn’t last more than a day,” he said. “It’s almost over.” He would have to extend his heat setup, though. Usually after his heat ended he went through a thorough cleaning and reorganizing of everything. He would have to put that on hold; maybe he could wash some things while Wei Wuxian was sleeping...

"I guess you'll get what you wanted after all then. I'll be in rut for a few days," Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan nodded. He was curious about how it would go down once he wasn’t so weak.

The rest of the day went about as normally as it could. Lan Zhan spent all of it in bed with his legs spread. He was more content than he had been the last time Wei Wuxian went into rut. Maybe he was just getting used to it now.

His heat faded away that evening. He felt his temperature go down gradually, even though his scent was still strong. The heat scent usually stuck around for a couple days and tapered off the more often he bathed.

He felt energetic for the first time in a week. Usually his heat absolutely wore him out and he had to drag himself around his room to clean everything between long bouts of sleeping. But he didn’t feel tired then, and he chalked it up to the rut scent. It got under his skin and made him restless. He wanted to run around and do things, maybe do things to Wei Wuxian.

He looked over. Wei Wuxian was sleeping deeply. It was somewhere in the middle of the night, though Lan Zhan’s body clock said it was mid-morning with how much energy it had.

He carefully pried himself away from Wei Wuxian, making sure to go at a snail pace so he didn’t wake up. He took one of his bigger stuffed animals and placed it in the spot where he’d been. He had spent all week crooning and scenting his stuffed animals, so they smelled indistinguishable from himself. Hopefully that would be enough to keep Wei Wuxian asleep.

He snuck away from the nest and walked a couple laps around the room and did some squats to stretch his legs, then he made his way to the bathtub. He had lit a single torch on the wall in the bath area, so it was dim in the room and very cozy. It was also freezing, so he went ahead and sat down in the tub and stuck his head under the hot water as if filled up.

He was absolutely disgusting. He hadn’t truly bathed in a week other than the quick ones Wei Wuxian forced him into, and he’d been covered in sweat and cum and slick this whole time. He didn’t even plug up the tub for a minute, just rubbing his hands over his body and getting the grime off and letting it drain. Then he put the plug in and relaxed into the hot water with a satisfied sigh, taking the soap and rubbing it all over him.

Wei Wuxian was only satisfied for a little while, particularly when he went to nuzzle in against Lan Zhan's skin and found it... soft. And furry. Wei Wuxian's eyes fluttered open and noticed that Lan Zhan was nowhere to be found in the nest. "Lan Zhaaaaaan," he whined.

Lan Zhan froze. He should have expected that Wei Wuxian would wake up. He had hoped the stuffed animal would hold him over until he could return.

“I’m still here,” he called back, rubbing himself down with the soap a little faster now.

Wei Wuxian pushed himself up and he clambered out of the nest to follow his voice. His eyes followed him to the bath. Despite still having his pants on, Wei Wuxian clambered into the bath with him.

Lan Zhan blinked rapidly, pressing himself against the edge of the tub. It was to be expected, really. Wei Wuxian was sort of out of his mind. He supposed he was to expect to be ravished soon too. Well, might as well do it in the bath and then he could wash Wei Wuxian too.

He set down the soap and then reached over to untie Wei Wuxian’s pants and pull them off his legs. They were disgusting too, so they would need to be washed regardless. He wrung them out and dropped them on the wooden floor of his bath area.

Wei Wuxian took that as an invitation. He growled and grabbed Lan Zhan's waist, pulling him towards him and shoving his legs over his shoulders. "Teasing me?" he breathed. He licked his lips and rubbed his cock up against Lan Zhan's entrance.

Lan Zhan sighed forcefully. He pulled his feet back down into the water got on his knees. “You got in the tub with your clothes on,” he corrected him, wrapping his hand around Wei Wuxian’s cock. “Fool.”

Wei Wuxian moaned and bucked his hips into Lan Zhan's fist. He paid no mind to what he'd said, focused more on the pleasure that was suddenly being given to him.

Lan Zhan watched and thought for a moment. He was kind of sore from his heat, and he wouldn’t exactly miss just _one time_ without getting a knot. Maybe his pussy needed a break. But he still wanted to make his mate feel good.

He took his hand away. “Sit up on your knees,” he said.

Wei Wuxian's eyes were fixed on Lan Zhan as he did as he was told. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Lan Zhan didn’t answer. He wrapped his hand around Wei Wuxian’s cock again, this time around the part of the base that always expanded to form the knot. He wrapped his other hand around it too just for security. He stared for a moment and wrinkled his nose while he sat through the passing feeling of distaste. When it was once again bearable, he opened his mouth and encased the head before sucking lightly.

A loud gasp slipped from Wei Wuxian's lips. He reached out to grab the edges of the tub, his eyes wide as he watched Lan Zhan take the tip of his cock in his mouth. Even in his rut-addled state, he acknowledged what a big deal this was. Lan Zhan had _never_ sucked his cock unprompted before.

Lan Zhan pointedly didn’t try to look up at him. He didn’t want to risk seeing any smug look or he very well might wrestle Wei Wuxian out of the tub. He was doing this because he wanted to, but it didn’t erase his usual dislike for the act. _Just get it over with,_ he thought.

He sucked harder, hollowing out his cheeks until they stung. He squeezed his hands too, though he kept them secure over that spot.

It was almost too much. Wei Wuxian moaned and bucked into his mouth, fucking in as best he could. Truly, it didn't take him long to cum. He let out a loud whine as he spilt into his mouth.

Lan Zhan took the cum in his mouth and squeezed hard around his knot again while it started to expand as if it was inside him. He almost choked on the amount that was filling up his mouth, and he had no choice but to swallow it. He wasn’t about to spit it out into his own bath water.

He sat there for what felt like forever, growing increasingly bored and restless, until it seemed like no more was coming out. He let it fall from his mouth and he used his elbow to turn the handle on the faucet so he could get a few mouthfuls of water to get out the bitter taste.

“Do you want me to hold it the whole time?” he asked. He wasn’t sure if the knot would stay if he let go, or if the rut would come back if it deflated early.

"Yes..." Wei Wuxian breathed. His mind was starting to clear a bit now that he'd cum. "Thank you."

Lan Zhan hummed and adjusted his grip, keeping it tight. “Wash my hair,” he said, “It’s the yellow soap on the stand.”

"Okay," Wei Wuxian said. He picked up the soap that he'd been directed to and started to wash Lan Zhan's hair. "Why did you... do that?"

Lan Zhan grimaced, his ears heating up. “I’m kind of sore,” he said. “Not in the mood for an orgasm. Want to do other things first before I play with you.”

"Play with me?" Wei Wuxian asked again. He kept running his fingers through his hair, washing and scrubbing as best he could.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan considered. He supposed they should talk about it first. “I want to see how far you’ll go. Like last time.”

Wei Wuxian hummed and nodded. He finished up washing his hair and smiled at him.

Lan Zhan waited patiently until the knot in his hands deflated. He remembered what Wei Wuxian had told him last time about pinching him if he needed Wei Wuxian to listen while he was in rut. He figured that doing that combined with the color ‘red’ would get his attention. He didn’t have anything to worry about.

He pulled Wei Wuxian down and made him sit while he scrubbed him clean, even though he knew they would just get dirty again.

After the bath he put on a clean night robe, leaving his heat dress in the tub with Wei Wuxian’s wet clothes to wash later. He cuddled up with Wei Wuxian in his nest and somehow managed to fall asleep.

He must have slept through the morning bell again, since sunlight hit his face the next morning and woke him up. He was tight in Wei Wuxian’s arms, and it looked like he wasn’t going to let go. The rut scent was once again at full strength and crawled under his skin, urging him to act. He reached down between his legs and felt the wetness there. The annoying thing about heats was how long it took the effects to fade away, but this time it was a positive thing.

He pressed three fingers in, pleased to find that they went in without too much trouble. He could play around with Wei Wuxian now if he wanted to. He sat up, pulling himself from Wei Wuxian’s arms.

“I’ll be back,” he said, even though Wei Wuxian was just now waking.

Wei Wuxian barely registered what had been said to him. He made a grumbling noise in acknowledgement and then nuzzled into the blankets in the nest. However, it only took a short amount of time for Wei Wuxian to realise what Lan Zhan had said and that he was absent from his hold. "Lan Zhaaannnn," he cried.

Lan Zhan heard it from the bathroom. He sighed, though fondly. He went to the sink and washed his hands and his face and brushed out his hair, then started to braid it. He pulled the braid into a tight bun at the bottom of his head and then padded all the way across the room to the door to retrieve the breakfast Lan Xichen had brought. He heard the complaining every meter away and held back a laugh. He knew he sounded even worse than this in his heat.

“Breakfast first,” he said. He picked a couple oranges from his tree and brought the tray into the nest. Lan Xichen had brought them plenty of boiled eggs and bread and butter, and a couple sweet breads, which were Lan Zhan’s favorite. He ate one of those first, humming in delight.

When Wei Wuxian leapt up and pushed the tray to one side to climb into Lan Zhan's lap and grab his cheeks for a kiss, Lan Zhan made a disgraceful noise and acted like he hadn’t expected such rude behavior. He still had a mouth full of sweet bread. He forced his upper body away so he could at least chew and swallow.

“You’re an _animal,”_ he complained. “Let me eat.”

Wei Wuxian turned his head to growl at the tray before he pushed Lan Zhan down onto his back. "You're the only thing I want to eat," he said.

The good thing about Wei Wuxian being in rut was that he was kind of stupid with his head full of fog and arousal. The bad thing was that he was going to be stronger and more vicious than usual. But strong and stupid was something Lan Zhan liked when it came to martial arts. He hooked his foot around Wei Wuxian’s ankle and grabbed his arm and held it fast while he rolled them over so he was on top. He grabbed an egg and quickly peeled the shell off, then put it to Wei Wuxian’s lips.

“You barely ate anything yesterday,” he said. He eyed the potions that were in the corner of the nest. He should probably take another one of those, just in case.

Wei Wuxian took it in his mouth and make sure to suck lightly on Lan Zhan's fingers as he did. The egg barely touched the sides of his mouth, he chewed and swallowed so fast. Then, he was back to his ravenous self. "I don't wanna eat anymore," he said. He grabbed Lan Zhan's hips.

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but smirk as he said, “I thought you said you wanted to eat me.” He pulled his robe up so he could knee-walk up Wei Wuxian’s body. “Open up,” he said. Now that he was closer to the potions, he reached over to grab one so he could drink it quickly.

"I do want to eat you," Wei Wuxian breathed. He met Lan Zhan's eyes and stuck his tongue out.

Lan Zhan tossed the bottle back into the corner and dug his hands into Wei Wuxian’s hair and positioned his entrance over his waiting mouth. He was already wet, though not as wet as he could be.

After pausing for a second, he grabbed a pillow and sat up on his knees so he could bully it under Wei Wuxian’s neck and shoulders. This way he could let his head fall back to meet the nest; it would give him more room to breathe, not being _as_ smothered by Lan Zhan’s balls. Once he thought it was good, he slowly lowered himself down.

Wei Wuxian's hands slid up to grab handfuls of Lan Zhan's ass as he closed his eyes and got to work. He flicked his tongue over Lan Zhan's pussy, lapping up any slick that came out, before digging his tongue in to lick at his entrance.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and let out a soft sound, tilting his head back. He moved his hips in small motions, then he reached for the tray of food and slid it over. He grabbed the sweet bread he had been eating and started to munch on it again.

Wei Wuxian's cock throbbed the longer he spent eating him out. He kept at it, sliding the tip of his tongue inside, and began to knead Lan Zhan's ass.

Lan Zhan took his time eating until he was full. He pushed the tray away against the wall of the nest and then started to move his hips in little motions again. He grabbed his cock and pumped it. “Put your fingers in too,” he said breathlessly.

Wei Wuxian was more focused on Lan Zhan's ass at that given time. His fingers slid through his slick briefly before he pried his cheeks apart to push the tip of his finger inside his asshole. He kept lapping at his entrance as he did.

"Tight," he rasped against him.

Lan Zhan gasped and pulled away. “You little demon,” he complained while moving back to slot his knees under Wei Wuxian’s arms. He grabbed his hands and held them down on the bed. “Open your mouth,” he said.

"You said put your fingers in," Wei Wuxian whined. He wiggled in Lan Zhan's grasp, not putting his strength behind it.

Lan Zhan didn’t grace that with a reply. He held Wei Wuxian’s wrists with one hand and used the other to pull the pillow up so Wei Wuxian’s head was even now. He guided his cock into his mouth, then went back to holding his wrists with both hands.

Wei Wuxian met Lan Zhan's gaze as he took his cock in his mouth. He licked and slurped obscenely on the shaft, saliva dribbling down his chin.

Lan Zhan kept his eyes on Wei Wuxian’s face as he thrust shallowly into his mouth. It was the leftover effects of his heat that had him already close, the fire building in his gut. He came with a low groan, his mouth hanging open.

He pulled out and let go. “Now be a good boy while I go wash clothes.”

Wei Wuxian swallowed down all the cum that Lan Zhan gave him but he was also quick to grab his wrists and pin him down to the nest now. "No," he said with a growl. "You're mine."

Lan Zhan hid the rush of arousal that went through him. He growled back at him, baring his teeth a little. “Says who?” he challenged.

"Says the bite on your neck," Wei Wuxian replied. He bared his teeth back at him before using his full strength to flip Lan Zhan onto his stomach. In a flash, he mounted him and positioned his cock to push inside him.

Lan Zhan didn’t want to give up that easily. He thrashed around and twisted onto his side, shoving Wei Wuxian away as much as he could. _“Anyone_ can leave a mark,” he argued.

He felt a little like playing chase, so he dashed out of the nest as quickly as he could, wrapping his robe more tightly around himself.

Of course, Wei Wuxian wasn't going to let his mate get away that easily. He growled and shot up to his feet, chasing Lan Zhan into his room. It didn't take him too long to catch up to him and when he did, he tackled Lan Zhan to the floor, clawing at his robes until he ripped through the fabric and hitched it up his waist.

"You're a little brat," he breathed. He mounted him again and latched onto his neck with his teeth, _hard_ , and then positioned his cock again to slide in. He rested his fully body weight on top of him, keeping him pinned under him.

Lan Zhan shouldn’t have been surprised by the gush of slick that met Wei Wuxian’s cock or his own twitching in arousal. Being shoved to the ground so violently and the tearing of his robe pulled a wretched moan out of him against his will.

He was glad that he had that cushioned mat on his floor, otherwise that would have hurt a _lot._ He probably wouldn’t have cared anyway, though, just like he didn’t dislike the fiery shocks of pain in his neck where Wei Wuxian claimed him again. The teeth on his scent glands made it impossible to hide his wanton scent. Still he struggled, wanting to get the most out of this experience.

Wei Wuxian spared no mercy. He begun fucking in to Lan Zhan hard and fast, their skin slapping loudly every time they met. His fingers curled into Lan Zhan's hair, grabbing a fistful of it harshly and keeping his cheek pressed into the ground. "Stop it," he panted. "Stay still and take what's given to you."

Lan Zhan felt weak. He was so turned on it was almost unfair. He put his hands on the floor and tried to push up against Wei Wuxian’s bodyweight, but he didn’t budge. He let out another growl that lifted into a helpless whimper as Wei Wuxian kept slamming into him.

"You're so wet. You _love_ this, don't you? Having me push you down and fuck you senseless," Wei Wuxian egged on. He groaned, pushing in as deep as he could. His free hand came up to spread Lan Zhan's cheeks again and he rubbed his thumb over his asshole. "I want to fuck your ass too. I want to knot in it."

Lan Zhan put more effort into struggling. “Fuck your own ass,” he said, loud and rude.

He briefly considered whether Wei Wuxian would actually do it — he was wild at the moment, there was no telling what he’d do. He could use a safeword if it looked like he would... but he liked this forcefulness too much to stop. It was thrilling, sending rushes of adrenaline through him in ways that nothing else could. _Hell, if worse comes to worst I don’t have degree in healing for nothing,_ he thought.

Wei Wuxian seemingly ignored his words. He pushed one of his fingers inside his ass, hooking it in and thrusting it experimentally as he continued to fuck him. "I'll cum in all your holes. There won't be a part of you I won't have ravaged," he said.

Lan Zhan let out a groan from the intrusion. “Are you going to put it in my nose too? You’re such an _animal,”_ he said.

"I'd love to cum on your face. You look so pretty in white," Wei Wuxian replied. He let out another long moan as he felt himself drawing close to his orgasm already.

Lan Zhan scoffed in offense. “You miscreant,” he cried, unable to come up with more insults than that. He eventually gave up and just reached under himself to jack off; not that he needed it. He was bound to come anytime soon.

Just as Wei Wuxian was about to cum, he pulled his finger and his cock out. He spread Lan Zhan's asshole and gave his cock a pump until he came over and just inside the spread hole with a moan. As with his rut, one pump of cum was never going to be it. He pushed his cock back into Lan Zhan's wet heat as the next wave came, his knot expanding and spreading his insides.

Lan Zhan’s eyes blew wide. He could feel the cum dripping down his ass and around where Wei Wuxian filled him up. He had to admit that that was incredibly arousing. It reminded him of their first time... he came with a stuttered moan, only barely saving his floor by catching it in his hand.

Wei Wuxian let go of Lan Zhan's hair and slumped against him while his knot kept pumping his seed into him. He panted with exhaustion and closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead on Lan Zhan's shoulder. "Love you," he mumbled.

Lan Zhan gave him a long, satisfied hum in response. He shifted and then held his cum-covered hand up over his shoulder, offering it to him.

Wei Wuxian took his fingers into his mouth one by one and licked up all the cum. He was glad that he was satisfied.

Lan Zhan rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes. He would have a lot to get done before the next rut wave came, so he wanted to savor the moment he had.


	44. Punishment

Much to Lan Zhan’s delight, the next two days were filled with more of that violent sex. He now had _two_ ripped robes, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t sew back together.

Once the rut was over, he had Wei Wuxian help him clean all of the sheets and put a new mat in the nest, then revive all of his plants. He wasn’t looking forward to going back into the world. He knew what was waiting.

Now he and Wei Wuxian were kneeling in the detention room with the door locked and his brother standing guard outside while Lan Qiren burned them with a murderous stare. Thankfully his mother was also there; she wouldn’t let anything _too_ bad happen.

“Does anyone care to tell me why I had to learn about your little adventure through another student?” Lan Qiren asked.

Lan Zhan was quiet and kept his gaze downwards.

“Can I trust anyone in this family?” he continued. _“All_ of you went behind my back -- Xichen, I know you’re listening and you’re just as guilty. Lan Zhan, do you understand why we have rules? Do you?”

“Yes, uncle,” Lan Zhan said.

“Really? Because you seem to think that they don’t apply to you. You not only disrespected our rules, you disobeyed your mother’s _direct_ order to stay alone. Look at me.”

Lan Zhan slowly raised his eyes to meet Lan Qiren’s and swallowed.

Lan Qiren just glared at him. “If you think that being engaged has changed anything, you are mistaken. You are _still_ my nephew, _still_ her son. We have raised you and given you more opportunities than _any_ omega in the entire world has. We taught you whatever you wished, we give you your own castle and we’ve never arranged a marriage for you. But make no mistake, _you are an omega and you belong to this household until you are married.”_

He must have seen Lan Zhan’s expression harden because he continued, “Don’t you dare say anything. This is how it is for every omega; you have special treatment as it is. Xichen is given more or less the same expectations. Children are to be filial and respect their elders, and family comes first. Do you know what you have done to our reputation? My father was too lenient and it not only resulted in my brother becoming an irresponsible fool and _you_ becoming a _whore!”_

“Qiren!” Lan Xia cried.

Lan Qiren's words grated on Wei Wuxian too. What kind of alpha was he to let someone, even if they were his family, berate his mate like that? Going as far as to call him a _whore_ , nonetheless.

"Don't take this out on him," he said quickly. "Do not insult him for having the same sexual freedom as any alpha would. As his fiancé, I have already agreed to taken upon some of the burden of looking after him. If you were going to punish anyone, punish _me._ "

Lan Qiren looked like he was about to explode. “You will be _silent,”_ he raged. “If I hear one more word from you without invitation, I’m sending you home until next semester.”

Lan Zhan’s blood ran cold and he eyed Wei Wuxian. He knew his uncle wouldn’t take back something like that.

“And you will be punished as well, no need to worry,” Lan Qiren continued. “You are obviously a toxic influence on my nephew. It would be within my right to expel you.”

“Qiren,” Lan Xia said, “we talked about this. Wei Wuxian is not going anywhere.”

Lan Qiren turned to stare at her, then he said, “Did you know that this was the second time this has happened?” Lan Xia blinked and looked between the other three.

“Yes,” Lan Qiren continued, “I also found out that he did this last semester too. He waltzed up to Wei Wuxian’s room and the whole floor could listen to their disgraceful activities. Do you think others won’t see this example set by the highest standing omega student and follow his lead?”

Lan Zhan started to shake, overcome with humiliation. He couldn’t look at the expression on his mother’s face.

“If Xichen went into the omega dorms and loudly engaged with one of them like that, I would have him whipped. Is that what you wish for, Lan Zhan? Do you wish to be treated like an alpha in that regard?”

“No, uncle,” Lan Zhan said.

“Good, because your mother would have my head if I whipped you. Not that you wouldn’t deserve it with how disrespectful you have been. No, your mother and I have decided upon your punishment. For both of you.”

He looked at Lan Xia, who said, “Lan Zhan, you will be spending half of your weeks at the farm from now on. Every Thursday morning, you will depart, and Sunday evening you will return. We have already spoken with Shi Qianmu about this arrangement. You will be helping her mate with domestic duties. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday you will spend in the residential area, except to attend your classes, see your professors or help in the greenhouse. You will sleep in the winter room.”

“You two will not be allowed alone together for two months,” Lan Qiren said. “You will have a couple of weeks before the end of the semester to spend together _if_ you both behave. You will be able to see each other three days out of the week, since both of you will be attending detention in this room, and your home management class which you both share.”

Lan Zhan swallowed. He felt like the world was crashing down around him, but he held himself together. It wasn’t that bad. It wouldn’t be forever. They were still engaged. “Do you both understand?”

“Yes uncle,” Lan Zhan said.

"...Yes," Wei Wuxian answered too. He stared down at the floor, his hands curled into fists. This was unfair. This was totally unfair. He'd gotten permission from Lan Xichen and Lan Xia to spend Lan Zhan's heat with him and they took precautions. Nothing bad had happened. He looked after his mate, there was nothing wrong with that. To be punished for wanting to be together? This was ridiculous.

As if reading his mind, Lan Qiren said, “Xichen. Come in here.”

The door opened and Lan Xichen came inside silently, going to kneel next to Lan Xia.

“Both of you kept this information from me,” Lan Qiren said. “You attempted to shield Lan Zhan from the punishment he deserved. I will be withholding this month’s allowance to each of you.”

“Yes uncle,” Lan Xichen said.

“You two are dismissed,” Lan Qiren said.

He turned to Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan and said, “Your first detention will start now. Wei Wuxian, can you do a handstand?”

"I can," Wei Wuxian answered. To be honest, Wei Wuxian was surprised he hadn't been punished yet in all the time he'd been at Gusu University.

Lan Qiren nodded. “For today you may just do the handstand. Next time you will be expected to start alternating hands. By the end of the semester you will be copying our rules as well. Lan Zhan, do what you can.”

“Yes uncle,” Lan Zhan said. He went to get a sheet of paper and an ink set, then set it in the far corner of the room. He hadn’t done this in a very long time, so he wasn’t sure he would even be able to write anything. He took off his outer robe and hung it on the nearest hook then quickly braided his hair and tucked it into his sash to keep it from falling over the paper. He put his hands on the floor and stayed there for a moment, then bent his legs and lifted them into the air before straightening them out.

Wei Wuxian watched Lan Zhan for a brief moment before taking off his own jacket and pushing himself up into handstand as well. He liked to think that he was pretty strong, his arm strength certainly wasn't too bad.

Lan Zhan wasn’t able to write anything, but he did experiment with switching hands. His arms were aching by the time his uncle said that they were dismissed.

“You have until dinner before your punishment starts,” Lan Qiren said. “Move everything you need into the winter room. You’ll be allowed to go to your room to attend your plants when someone is available to accompany you.”

“Thank you, uncle,” Lan Zhan said with a bow.

Wei Wuxian bowed too and picked up his jacket. He left the room with Lan Zhan as soon as he could and let out a deep breath. "Ugh! This is so stupid!" he complained.

Lan Zhan didn’t say anything. He knew it was to be expected. He had been in the wrong, after all. He took Wei Wuxian’s hand and led him toward his room. “We have a few hours before dinner,” he said. “Help me pack my things?”

"Of course," Wei Wuxian said. He squeezed Lan Zhan's hand and walk with him up to his room.

Lan Zhan didn’t have much he wanted to take with him. Just a few stuffed animals, clothes and toiletries. He was going to have to put his research on hold until the winter break, and he would bully his brother into sitting up here with him while he did his sewing. They packed everything into bags and set them by the door, then Lan Zhan pulled Wei Wuxian to sit with him on the bed. He shamelessly climbed into his lap and put his head on his shoulder, not knowing when he would be able to do that again for a while.

"Hey... It'll be okay," Wei Wuxian said softly. He wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan and rubbed his back. Gently, he pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

“It won’t be too bad,” Lan Zhan said, trying to convince himself more than Wei Wuxian. “You can still kiss me after class. We can go early and talk in the hallway too. I’ll have mother or da-ge take me into the dorms to give you and Jiang Wanyin your soup once I’ve perfected it. Or I will go into the school dining room at dinnertime and give it to you then.”

"See? It won't be all bad," Wei Wuxian replied. His hands moved up to cup Lan Zhan's cheeks and then he leaned in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan leaned into it, putting as much of his love into it as he could. He kissed him over and over until his lips tingled. “You can write me notes too,” he said. “I’ll read them when I get back to my room.”

"Hmm okay but you can't show them to anybody," Wei Wuxian said. He booped Lan Zhan on the nose with a smile.

Lan Zhan bit his lip against a smile of his own. “Of course,” he said. “I’ll read them in the bath, how about that? No one will even see them.”

"Sounds good to me. I'll make sure to write you some saucy ones too," Wei Wuxian teased. He chuckled and leaned in for another quick kiss.

Lan Zhan didn’t keep it quick, though. He sat up and straddled Wei Wuxian’s thighs, turning the kiss passionate. He was going to make the most of these few hours they had left.

—

That night, Lan Zhan went to bed early. He was still tired after his heat, and he was too sad to try to do anything. He was just laying down in bed with his stuffed animals when his mother knocked on his door and came in.

“Were you asleep already?” she asked, pausing.

Lan Zhan sat up and shook his head, relighting the candles. “I just lay down.”

Lan Xia came over to sit next to him. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

Lan Zhan looked down for a moment before he said, “Sad.”

His mother tsk’d and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Baby,” she cooed. “It won’t be too hard after a while. You’ll get used to it.” She quiet for a moment, then said, “You were always such a good child. You never did anything very bad, so we never had to punish you like this. I know you’re not used to it, but this happens to everyone. Our actions have consequences.”

Lan Zhan leaned over to rest his head on her shoulder. “I would rather have been whipped.”

“Don’t say that,” Lan Xia said, patting his head lovingly. “You don’t want any ugly scars all over your back, do you?”

“You could heal them,” Lan Zhan said.

Lan Xia sighed. “It’s not right to punish an omega that way,” she said. “Think about it like preparing for married life. Focus on your classes and learning from Wei Fang. He’s a nice man, I know he adores you too. He told me he had secretly wished you would marry their eldest so he could have you as a son-in-law. And I can finally teach you some of my own recipes if you’d let me after all these years.”

Lan Zhan paused, then he said, “Okay.”

Lan Xia pat his head again. “I’ll leave you alone now. Get some sleep, and come get me if you need anything.”

—

The next morning he took his bags to the gates, where a carriage was waiting for him. _At least I can see the rabbits and puppies,_ he thought. Maybe he would go ahead and buy Snowball by the end of this. Wei Wuxian said he wanted to buy him a rabbit, but maybe he could buy a baby one in the spring. Lan Zhan wanted Snowball sooner than that.

He stopped by Song Hua’s place of residence to let her know that he wouldn’t be able to take care of Hudie for a while. Wei Fang waddled out to greet him when he arrived at the farm. “Good morning!” he said warmly. “Welcome! I’ve got the guest room all fixed up. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Lan Zhan was left alone to relax for a little while and settle into his temporary home before he was put to work. He went out to see the bunnies and the rest of the animals, then returned to help Wei Fang prepare lunch. His eldest daughters had already left, so it was just him and Wei Fang in the kitchen. Gracefully, Wei Fang didn’t talk about why he was there.

It was weird for the first couple of days. He had to learn about where everything was and when certain things were supposed to be done. But by Saturday he was more comfortable and he worked hard, taking care of all of the cleaning and other chores that Wei Fang couldn’t do. Thankfully he wasn’t expected to take care of the children yet, but he knew that eventually he would be. He didn’t mind the toddler, but the older kids were going to be awkward to be around.

He could barely stop himself from catapulting into Wei Wuxian’s arms on Monday morning. It was the longest they’d been apart in a long time. He allowed himself to indulge in one kiss, trying to ignore the students around them.

When Wei Wuxian slipped him a note, he tucked it securely into his robes. Later that evening in the bath, he couldn’t help himself from smiling when he read it.

The next week at the farm, Wei Fang asked him to spend time in the evenings teaching the younger children how to read and the teenager how to do math. It was nerve-wracking, but he had some experience with teaching people. He hoped that teaching children wasn’t too different.

The second youngest was the hardest to work with. He was easily distracted and wanted to play more often than he wanted to work, but Lan Zhan learned how to bribe him with playtime and food. The nine-year-old and fourteen-year-old were much easier to handle, since they could be serious and sit down for the whole time.

Naturally, the children grew closer to him. Lan Zhan wasn’t sure what to make of it; it felt like a massive responsibility that he wasn’t ready to deal with, but he figured that Wei Fang would correct him if he did something wrong.

“Lan-gege, Lan-gege!” came a tiny voice one morning.

Lan Zhan stopped what he was doing and turned to see the little five-year-old A-Jing trotting over to him, tears streaming down his face. He looked absolutely devastated.

Lan Zhan crouched down to meet him. “What is it?”

“Yan-jie hit me!” A-Jing cried, fresh tears falling down his red face.

Lan Zhan blinked. He had no idea how to handle this situation. Was he allowed to discipline the children? He looked over to where A-Yan was playing with her toys, looking grumpy, and sighed.

He would just have to try. He took A-Jing’s hand and walked with him over to the other child. “A-Yan,” he said gently.

A-Yan pointedly ignored him. Lan Zhan sighed again, trying to think of how to do this. “A-Jing said that you hit him,” he said. “Is this true?”

She still didn’t answer. Lan Zhan shifted awkwardly, then knelt down next to the children. “Can you tell me why you hit him?”

“He took my toys,” she said.

Lan Zhan nodded, happy he had gotten some reaction. He looked at A-Jing. “Did you take her toys?” he asked.

A-Jing looked grumpy now too. “I wanted to play,” he said.

Lan Zhan paused for a moment, then he said, “A-Jing. You should not have taken A-Yan’s toys without her permission. That is rude and it will make people angry if you take their things. A-Yan, you should not have hit him. Violence is wrong, even if you are angry.”

The children looked at their feet.

“I would like for you to both apologize to each other,” Lan Zhan continued. “Do you know how to apologize?”

“Sorry, Yan-jie,” A-Jing said.

Lan Zhan hummed. “When we apologize, we need to say out loud what we did that was wrong, and say what you will do in the future instead. That way people know that you are sincere. Let’s practice. Say it with me, okay? ‘Yan-jie, I took your toys without permission, and that was wrong.’”

“Yan-jie, I took your toys without permission, and that was wrong.”

“‘I’m sorry, and in the future I will only take your toys if you say that I can.”

“I’m sorry, and in the future, I will only take your toys if you say that I can.”

Lan Zhan looked at A-Yan. Without needing help she said, “Didi, I should not have hit you. I’m sorry and in the future I will…” She glanced at Lan Zhan, clearly unsure of how to rectify it. “I will tell Lan-gege instead of hitting you.”

Lan Zhan smiled a little. That was good enough, he supposed. “Okay,” he said.

“Make sure that you keep your word, understand? A-Jing, if A-Yan doesn’t want to give you her toys, then you should go find something else to play with. You can also ask if she would be willing to play with you, or if she would let you borrow the toys when she is done playing with them. For now, why don’t you come help me bring in the firewood and then I’ll give you some candy?”

“Okay!”

“Can I have some candy too?” A-Yan asked, bright eyed.

Lan Zhan hummed. He couldn’t be giving all the children candy. “How about later this evening? If you work hard on your reading practice then I’ll give you a piece for every page.”

A-Yan nodded, satisfied with that.

—

Wei Wuxian spent every waking moment thinking about Lan Zhan. He missed him dearly, he missed sneaking up to his room and spending the night with him. The fact that they had to be separated like this just wasn’t fair. He wanted to be with him so bad. The little moments they could spend together before classes or at dinner weren’t enough for him. He wanted more but there was nothing he could do. Whenever he felt particularly lonely, he wrote him a letter for the next time he saw him.

A few weeks into his punishment, Lan Zhan finally started getting around to making the lotus pork rib soup. He had to enlist his brother’s help in growing the lotus in the big pot downstairs, but shortly he had a couple of lotus roots to use. He spent a whole afternoon in the kitchen with his notes that he’d made with Jiang Yanli. He enhanced the herbs before adding them, but only a little bit. He didn’t want to change anything too drastically. He decided to keep it simple for the first one, since Jiang Wanyin liked it to be just like his sister’s. Later he would experiment with it for Wei Wuxian.

He sat in the school dining room before the dinner bell rang, waiting for the students to come in. He had two big covered bowls of hot soup in front of him.

Wei Wuxian turned around, knowing that Jiang Wanyin was only a few paces behind him and he grinned and ran over to grab his wrist.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Wanyin exclaimed but Wei Wuxian didn’t explain. He knew what those bowls were, Lan Zhan had talked about it. So, he dragged him over with him.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian chirped. He let go of Jiang Wanyin to wrap his arms around Lan Zhan and press a big, wet kiss on his cheek, making Jiang Wanyin scoff with disgust.

Lan Zhan smiled and turned to give him a proper kiss. “Hello,” he said. “I made soup.”

"Yes! I saw you had them. Is one of these for Jiang Wanyin?" Wei Wuxian asked, pointing at the two bowls.

Jiang Wanyin's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

Lan Zhan nodded. “They are the same,” he said. He looked at Jiang Wanyin and shifted a bit in his seat, then pushed one of the bowls toward him. “I wanted to make you something as thanks for putting up with Wei Wuxian and myself during summer break.”

Jiang Wanyin didn't know what to make of that. He looked at Lan Zhan for a moment, eyes wide, before looking away and scratching the back of his neck with a blush and a scowl. "...Thanks."

Wei Wuxian burst into laughter.

Lan Zhan felt warm. He wasn’t the most fond of Jiang Wanyin, but he knew that Wei Wuxian cared about him and so he wanted to do right by him. “I tried to keep it the same as hers,” he said. “I enhanced the herbs a little but that’s it.”

Wei Wuxian sat down next to Lan Zhan and took one of the bowls and uncovered it. He glanced at Jiang Wanyin and then pat the seat next to him. "Like jiejie's. You'll like it."

Jiang Wanyin sighed and sat down, taking the bowl that was pushed towards him.

Lan Zhan rested his head on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder, wanting to take comfort from this time. “Mother said I could stay with you during dinner,” he said.

"I'll be sure to thank her next time I see her," Wei Wuxian replied. He wrapped an arm around him and kissed the top of his head.

"You two are gross," Jiang Wanyin said, wrinkling his nose.

Lan Zhan glanced at Jiang Wanyin and looked away. “One day you will have someone to be gross with,” he said.

Jiang Wanyin scoffed whilst Wei Wuxian broke into laughter again. He busied himself with uncovering the soup and taking the first mouthful.

"Well? How is it?" Wei Wuxian asked with a grin.

Jiang Wanyin was quiet for a moment and stared into the bowl. "'s good..."

"What was that?"

"It's good...!"

Lan Zhan hummed, satisfied with that response. “Eat yours,” he told Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian nodded and started to eat his soup as well. He made a delighted noise at the delicious taste. It was very close to jiejie's soup. "Thank you Lan Zhan!" he said.

“I will make you something every now and then,” Lan Zhan said. “Lets me get out of the home.”

"You're the sweetest. I love you soooooooo much," Wei Wuxian replied. He left his soup for just a moment to pepper Lan Zhan's face in kisses.

Lan Zhan smiled a little and tolerated the kisses. “Wei Fang is having me teach his children to read and do math,” he said.

"Oh yeah? How is it going?" Wei Wuxian asked. He turned back to keep eating his soup but he was genuinely curious.

“It’s fine,” Lan Zhan said. “I like teaching the ten-year-old, A-Yan. The five-year-old, A-Jing, is frustrating. I have to bribe him to pay attention.”

Wei Wuxian hummed thoughtfully. "You didn't like older kids when we last talked about it. Has it changed your mind at all?"

“I like babies,” Lan Zhan said. “The two-year-old is very good. The other two younger ones are... difficult to manage. They get into petty fights and I have to explain morality to them. I don’t think they grasp it well.”

"That's just parenting though, right? How else are they gonna learn?" Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan sighed. “I wish they would just behave,” he said. “I am tempted to ignore them but then they come crying to me and I have to be involved.”

Wei Wuxian playfully nudged Lan Zhan with his elbow. "That means they like and trust you. It's a good thing."

“I would lose my mind if I had to deal with them every day,” Lan Zhan complained. “Four days in a row is too much. I want Wei Fang to have the baby so I can take care of it.” Then again, Wei Fang would probably want Lan Zhan to care of the other kids while he took care of his new baby...

"It'll be different when they're your kids," Wei Wuxian said. "It's good practice for you now obviously but it's not the same."

Lan Zhan made a non-committal noise. “You will have to parent them yourself,” he said.

"Aren't omegas supposed to want kids and all that stuff?" Jiang Wanyin butted into the conversation. Wei Wuxian nudged him hard in the side, making him yelp.

Lan Zhan took it in stride. Maybe it was because he was frustrated with his family and he had many grievances. “Omegas are not supposed to be in school or marry for love, or know non-healing magic. They do not speak unless spoken to and they obey the alphas of the family, even their adult children. They are supposed to bear and raise children alone and be proficient in many skills that they give out for free, where alphas get paid to do the same. A tailor is paid, and a seamstress is just an omega.”

" _And_ it is a very outdated way of thinking, Wanyin. You don't want to be like them Wens, do you?" Wei Wuxian said.

Jiang Wanyin frowned and turned away. "No."

The name also brought a frown to Lan Zhan’s face. “We received a letter from them recently,” he said.

"Did you? What did it say?" Wei Wuxian said, his attention drawn back to Lan Zhan. The Wens were notorious for trying to close down the University. They didn't like that they allowed omegas to study.

“I don’t know,” Lan Zhan said. “Mother wouldn’t tell me. I think it was different than the usual vague threats. She seemed somewhat more troubled.”

"Well, they'd be idiots to attack," Wei Wuxian said. He prodded a piece of meat in his soup before taking another mouthful.

“Mm.” Lan Zhan pondered over it for a minute. “I don’t think they would attack directly, if they ever did. There are a lot of people who hate them.”

"There'd be war if they attacked Gusu," Jiang Wanyin said, shrugging his shoulders.

“We are well armed,” Lan Zhan agreed. Not only did they have their defenses, but they had all of their professors and alumni, and even the battle magic students.

Speaking of... “Are you taking offensive conjuration?” he asked Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian nodded. "Of course. I like all the fun stuff obviously but I of course want to use it for more practical things too."

Lan Zhan hummed. He had only sat in a few advanced conjuration classes out of curiosity. The last time Wei Wuxian explained something to him it was very different than what he had expected. “Have you learned how to make something move on its own? Like a familiar?” he asked.

"Not fully on its own. It all still needs some input from me," Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head.

Lan Zhan hummed. “I always envied conjuration because of familiars,” he admitted. “You can make your own pet...” Or tentacles. Lan Zhan blushed a little, wondering where Wei Wuxian had gotten with that research.

"Well, I don't know if you remember from your heat but my tentacles aren't _totally_ all me. They're not sentient or anything but they definitely have an affinity for nuzzling up to you without my direct command," Wei Wuxian said.

Jiang Wanyin made gagging noises.

That made Lan Zhan blush harder. “I like that,” he whispered, wanting to spare Jiang Wanyin from the conversation. It did make him more fond of the tentacles, if that was possible.

Jiang Wanyin made haste in finishing the soup and then picked up his bowl to clean up. "You two are _so_ gross, I just, eugh. Thank you for the soup, Lan Zhan," he said. He bowed towards Lan Zhan and then briskly walked off.

Lan Zhan’s lips twitched. He only felt a little bad. “I miss you,” he said after a moment.

"I miss you too. So much, you have _no_ idea. Well, no, you do. I think you get the message in the letters I write you," Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan couldn’t help himself. He put a hand over his mouth while he smiled a little, remembering the letters. “It’s going to be a long four months over winter,” he said.

"I know. I have to go back to see my family too and ah... After being separated from you for so long already it's going to be so hard," Wei Wuxian whined.

Lan Zhan wrapped his hands around Wei Wuxian’s bicep. “I will paint you pictures,” he said. “The campus looks very different in December.”

"I'd like that," Wei Wuxian said with a smile. "And we can keep writing letters to each other."

Lan Zhan nodded. “I want you to write long letters,” he said. “I will draw you pictures in return.”

"Sounds good to me," Wei Wuxian said. He leaned over to kiss his cheek, itching for attention.

Lan Zhan picked his head up to meet him for a real kiss. It was getting easier to ignore everyone else around them, even as Wei Wuxian’s arms wrapped around him.


	45. Secret Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Lan Zhan had waltzed into the alpha dorms in pre-heat, showcasing to everyone his disrespect for the rules. In response, Lan Qiren forbid him and Wei Wuxian to see each other until towards the end of the semester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lag, y'all, grad school is doing a number on me. The next chapter is a little slow for me to edit since it deals with more sensitive stuff (for me at least) and also I'm making some minor changes to it. But there's less than a month left of school, and I'll try to spend my winter break editing like crazy! In other news, my birthday is in 4 days so happy early birthday to me!! 😄😄

It was in the middle of the night in early October when Wei Fang went into labor. Lan Zhan had been sleeping on the floor in the play room for the past couple of days because the doctor was residing in the house until the birth.

He got up and walked to the bedroom, unsure if he should go in. “What do you need?” he asked the doctor.

“Come here, Lan Zhan,” Wei Fang said. He held out his hand, and Lan Zhan hesitated before going to stand by the bed. He took the older omega’s hand, and got a smile in return. “I want you to stay right here. My kids can do the helping. I want you to experience this, if you’re willing.”

Lan Zhan knelt down next to the bed and nodded. He watched as the teenager, Shi Taibai and Shi Qianmu ran in and out with different things under the doctor’s orders.

Wei Fang took a deep breath. He looked way too calm as he said, “I never knew any omega men who’d had kids before my first. They don’t teach us about this in the books. This is the only time you’ll get to learn about it.”

Lan Zhan was a little disturbed as he let himself be stripped from the waist down. “How long did it take you to get used to that?” he asked quietly, averting his eyes.

“Two times,” Wei Fang said. “The first time it was just me, Qianmu and the midwife. I don’t care anymore — let the whole world see if it would educate people about us. I’m old, there’s nothing desirable there anyway.”

“You hush,” Shi Qianmu quietly reprimanded him. “You’re thirty-nine.”

Wei Fang patted Lan Zhan on the head. “You can look,” he said. “Get as much out of this as you can.”

Lan Zhan looked, then swallowed roughly. He knew it would just get worse as this went on; he was glad that he had a degree in healing. If anything went wrong, he liked to think that he could do something about it.

The labor ended up taking eight hours. Lan Zhan was ashamed to admit that he was nearly falling asleep by the end, having only had a few hours of sleep and a long day before. Even between the screaming and sweating and pacing around, Wei Fang looked as happy as he could be. He kept saying _’come on out, little one, it’s your time to shine’_ whenever he had a peaceful moment.

Lan Zhan would be lying if he said he hadn’t cried when the baby came out. It was a little girl, and _so_ unbelievably tiny. He couldn’t quite believe that something so small could scream so loud.

The doctor checked her over before handing her to Wei Fang’s waiting arms. “As healthy as can be,” the doctor said. “Congratulations on eight healthy children.”

Lan Zhan controlled his breathing while he watched Wei Fang and his new baby. The adoration in his eyes was enough to know how much this baby meant to him. He didn’t take his eyes away for a second, even while he parted his robes and let her feed from his breast.

Shi Qianmu looked even more emotionally wrecked, and Lan Zhan recalled Wei Fang telling him that her mother had died after ten children.

“We made it,” Wei Fang said to her, a tired smile on his face.

After a little while, he let Shi Qianmu hold her and they passed the baby between the two oldest kids, then finally to Lan Zhan. She had been crying, but she quieted down a little when he knelt down next to Wei Fang.

“You smell like me,” Wei Fang said fondly. “She probably likes that.”

She had pretty brown eyes, and when she grimaced he saw two little dimples. She was a beautiful baby. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and Lan Zhan wondered what she was thinking. It must be so strange to enter the world like this, not knowing up from down.

Before he knew it he was crying again.

**—**

Wei Wuxian had been doing the best he could to focus on his studies to stop himself from thinking too much about Lan Zhan. He dragged Jiang Wanyin to the nearest town a few times so they could drink and have fun, like old times. It was the only way he could keep himself distracted.

He’d been asking Wang Laoshi for extra study material. He was hoping that he might have made more progress on his tentacle sensation practice by the time he and Lan Zhan got to spend time together again. In return for the extra material and guidance, he had Wei Wuxian do a few small errands for him from time to time.

That’s how he ended up in the supply closet, but the last thing he expected to find there was someone else.

“Lan Zhan?” he asked in a hushed whisper. “What are you doing?”

Lan Zhan almost dropped the artifact he had in his hands. He turned around, wide-eyed to see Wei Wuxian in the storage room with him. He looked behind him, but it seemed like he was alone.

"Nothing," he said. "Why are you here?"

"I'm picking up some bits for Wang Laoshi. I've been doing errands for him so he gives me extra guidance for my conjuration," Wei Wuxian replied. "Now what were you _really_ doing?"

Lan Zhan looked at the artifact in his hand, then quickly put it back on the shelf. His ears were red, having been caught snooping around. "Trying to escape my mother," he said. "She will not leave me alone."

Wei Wuxian cocked his head to one side and furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Why?"

"Because she is my mother and that is what mothers do," Lan Zhan said under his breath in frustration. She had been nagging him a lot in these past few days, leaving little criticizing comments here and there that he was sure she was unaware of. It was getting under his skin. He glanced behind Wei Wuxian again.

"Close the door," he said. He had been given a chance. Just a few minutes would be fine, right? It wasn't like anyone came to this room often.

Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Zhan and then the door. Slowly, he padded over and shut it. "There," he said.

Lan Zhan took Wei Wuxian's hand and led him behind some of the shelves further into the room. He had explored this room more than once in his need to get away. "Just a few minutes," he whispered, placing his hands on Wei Wuxian's chest and leaning in to kiss him.

Wei Wuxian got the message quickly. He put his hands on Lan Zhan's waist and drew him closer, kissing back passionately. Gods, he'd missed this. He squeezed his waist and kissed him as deeply as he could without getting too breathless.

Lan Zhan let out a quiet whimper and pressed himself into Wei Wuxian, kissing him as fiercely as he could. He had to admit that he seemed desperate, kissing him as if his life depended on it. They had been stuck with chaste kisses for almost two months now, and Lan Zhan was about to combust. It was almost like he was relearning Wei Wuxian's body, having forgotten it over this time.

Not only that, but Wei Wuxian was equally repressed. He had to deal with his own memories, fantasies, and his own hand for a long time since they'd been separated. It was agony. Now there was an opportunity. They were alone somewhere where no one would look for them. Wei Wuxian let his hand wander down to grab a handful of Lan Zhan's ass.

Lan Zhan canted his hips into Wei Wuxian hungrily. He hadn't intended for this to go anywhere substantial, but he would be damned if he stopped this.

He ate his words (thoughts?) a few seconds later when he heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs that led to the storage room. Even worse when he heard his uncle's voice right after.

He jumped away from Wei Wuxian, his heart nearly bursting out of his chest. If uncle saw them now... would they even get a few weeks before the semester ended? He turned around and eyed the staff chest. He knew it was empty, since he'd looked in it earlier. He didn't think, he just opened the chest and dove inside, lying down on his back.

Wei Wuxian watched with wide eyes. He looked around desperately before making the impulsive decision to jump into the chest as well. As a result, he was sprawled on top of Lan Zhan and he shut the chest on top of them.

Lan Zhan thought he might have a heart attack. His uncle's voice came with another: the elemental professor. Good; if they were here for elemental items, they were on the other side of the room. He shifted slightly to get a little more comfortable, as much as he could between a wooden floor and Wei Wuxian's weight on him. It was... a very nice weight, though. One that he'd been thinking about for a long while now. He reached up to touch Wei Wuxian's cheek and closed his eyes. They just had to wait this out.

If the close contact wasn't driving Wei Wuxian crazy, the close scent of Lan Zhan would. He mentally scolded his traitorous slowly hardening cock and blamed it on his sexual frustration as of late.

Lan Zhan had to resist many urges: to laugh, to tease, and to reach his hand down there and prod at the intruding bulge. Not that his own was far off, considering that his scent was starting to tweak and he felt a little wetness between his legs. He instead slid his hands up Wei Wuxian's sides and then to his back, slowly making a map of it.

At least Lan Zhan wasn't telling him off, Wei Wuxian thought. He let out a quiet hum before burying his face against Lan Zhan's neck, inhaling his scent before leaving small, wet kisses up and down. His claim had long since faded now which was a shame. He settled between his legs, running his hands along his sides and grinding his semi hard cock against him.

Lan Zhan couldn't really believe his own shamelessness. But wasn't he always this way, since meeting Wei Wuxian? There was something about this alpha that turned him into something terrible.

He carefully, slowly lifted his legs and slid them along the walls of the chest they were in until his knees rested under Wei Wuxian's arms. He squeezed Wei Wuxian's sides with his calves, trying to pull him down more.

Wei Wuxian was happily pulled down until he was laying completely on top of Lan Zhan. His breath was shaky, arousal seeping through his scent. "You have no idea how badly I want to fuck you," Wei Wuxian whispered in his ear.

Lan Zhan had to force himself to take even breaths in order to stay quiet. He was starting to get hard now too, his own scent changing to match. "We shouldn't," he whispered back, pressing his cheek to his. Still, that didn't stop him from slipping his hands under Wei Wuxian's shirt to feel the hot skin underneath.

"I know but I've missed you so much," Wei Wuxian replied. He held back a groan at the feeling of Lan Zhan's hands on his skin and he moved to capture his lips in another passionate kiss.

Lan Zhan breathed out and kissed him back, trying to keep himself from going wild again. Lan Qiren was still on the other side of the room, deep in a conversation with the professor. If his uncle found him in here, he surely would die. Wei Wuxian would be expelled, and they would have to run away and elope together. They'd have to track down that conjuration mage that wanted Wei Wuxian as an apprentice and beg him to take him back.

If they kept kissing, it would be easier to keep quiet. Wei Wuxian couldn't help but continue to roll his hips, grinding his cock up against Lan Zhan, his tongue slipping into his mouth.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth. He decided to try and stop reciprocating and just let it happen instead. Maybe if he didn’t fan the flames then it would be easier to stop. It was a lot easier said than done, though.

_He could probably cum like this_ , Wei Wuxian thought inwardly. His hands slid down from Lan Zhan's waist to cup his ass and pull him towards him.

The problem for Lan Zhan was that laying there and not doing anything was kind of hot. He always loved being used...

His uncle was still in the room. It seemed like they were getting a little closer, and his heart rate skyrocketed again. “Do not make a _sound,”_ Lan Zhan whispered, barely putting any air behind it.

Wei Wuxian gave a miniscule nod. He stilled briefly, listening intently to how Lan Qiren seemed to get closer and closer.

"And if you want to use these instead, you may," Lan Qiren was saying.

"I might do that," the professor said.

Lan Zhan focused on his breathing. In for eight seconds, hold four, out for ten seconds.

It felt like an eternity before they heard the door open and close, and the talking resuming down the hallway.

Lan Zhan gripped Wei Wuxian's arm. "Wait a few minutes before you leave," he whispered.

"It wouldn't take that long for you to jerk me off," Wei Wuxian replied in the same hushed whisper.

Lan Zhan shivered a little. He wanted to... he took his hand from Wei Wuxian's arm and slid it down to cup his hard cock. He could feel the dampness at the tip already.

Wei Wuxian let out a shaky breath at the sudden friction. He bucked his hips up towards the touch, egging Lan Zhan on.

Lan Zhan also took a deep, shaky breath. "I missed it," he whispered, running his fingers along the shaft like he was petting a rabbit. He tugged on the strings of Wei Wuxian's pants and opened them to pull his cock out. It was so thick...

Unable to control himself, he also untied his own pants and tugged them over his ass and thighs, just enough to expose his pussy. He ran his fingers through the wetness, amazed at how turned on he really was.

He took Wei Wuxian's cock and lined it up, though he said, "Don't push it in. I don't want you to knot me here."

The temptation was there. Wei Wuxian couldn't help letting out a small growl and then rubbed his cock up against the wetness. It was an easy glide given how turned on Lan Zhan was and it felt impossibly good.

Lan Zhan swallowed back a whimper. He loved having Wei Wuxian this close; it was like all of their time apart had made even the most basic of things feel so much stronger. He started to move his hand up and down the shaft. His hips went against his wishes and canted up, trying to get more of it inside him.

"I missed this. I missed this so much," Wei Wuxian muttered. Occasionally, his cock was dip just in a little, pushing hot against Lan Zhan's entrance and making his breath stutter.

Each time the head pushed in a little and spread him open, Lan Zhan had to fight to hold back a moan. He sped up his hand, murmuring, "When this is over I need you to fuck me so hard I can't think."

"Believe me, ah... I will," Wei Wuxian replied with an eagerness to his tone. It didn't take him much longer to cum, supressing his moan by biting his lip. He came over Lan Zhan's pussy in hot spurts.

Lan Zhan shivered violently, his whole body experiencing a rush. "Wei Wuxian," he breathed. "I haven't... I haven't cum in weeks. I c-can't... without you."

"My poor Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian muttered. His hands slid down through the slick, gathering some of his cum on the way, and pushed two fingers inside him. Gods, he was so hot and wet. He leaned his whole body weight on Lan Zhan, his face buried against his neck as his other hand came to paw at Lan Zhan's cock.

Lan Zhan’s hips shot up and he held back a moan. His legs shook. “Move them,” he whimpered.

Wei Wuxian wrapped his hand firmly around Lan Zhan's cock and started to stroke it. His other hand worked dutifully at pumping his fingers in and out of Lan Zhan's heat.

A moan slipped out and Lan Zhan clamped a hand over his mouth. He tried to spread his legs more, but the walls of the chest kept him from doing it. He had missed Wei Wuxian so much, missed being intimate with him like this. He squeezed his eyes shut while he came, pressing his calves to Wei Wuxian’s sides. It felt so _good,_ so blissful in a way he hadn’t been able to achieve in too long.

Wei Wuxian shivered himself when he watched and felt Lan Zhan cum underneath him. With a deep breath, he tucked his cock back in his pants and opened the top of the chest.

Lan Zhan slowly let his legs straighten out as he pulled his pants back up and tied them together again. “I miss you,” he whispered, looking up at him.

"I miss you too," Wei Wuxian said softly. He leaned in to press a quick kiss on his lips before he climbed out of the chest.

“Just ten more days,” Lan Zhan said. “Make sure you cover up my scent on you. Rub yourself with something.”

"I will. Um. I still need to grab some things for Wang Laoshi, why don't you leave first? Just in case someone sees us leave together," Wei Wuxian suggested.

Lan Zhan was planning to have Wei Wuxian leave first, but he supposed that worked. He sat up and got out of the chest with shaky legs. He really hasn’t cum in so long that just once had such an effect on him. He looked around and found some blankets that were used during elemental classes to protect against the more volatile elements. They had a peculiar smell to them, so he rubbed them over his front to cover up the smell of Wei Wuxian and sex.

“I’ll see you tomorrow in Home Management,” he said quietly.

"I can't wait," Wei Wuxian said with a smile. He watched as Lan Zhan left the supply closet. After he took care of his own scent he reached for the piece of paper in his jacket and found the bits he needed for Wang Laoshi before he left too.


	46. Pretending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian have been punished because of Lan Zhan's irresponsibility, and have been forced to be apart for two months. Now, they celebrate being together again by doing that pretend game they had talked about before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **TW: RAPE/NONCON ROLEPLAY** \-- This chapter is mainly a roleplay scene of them pretending to be other people. While it is obviously consensual throughout, the scene they are playing is anything but. If this bothers you, then please don't read it! It doesn't have any important information for the story as a whole, so you won't miss much. I put a note in the chapter where the scene starts, so read up to that point and then skip to the next chapter.
> 
> For any readers who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope y'all had a wonderful one!

Lan Zhan was actually sad that he had to leave the farm when his punishment ended. He gave a million kisses to the new baby (Xiao Mao was her milk name) and said that he would keep coming to the farm after the semester was over, until the snow got too high.

Wei Fang had been happy to let Lan Zhan hold Xiao Mao as much as he wanted and to feed her and change her rags. He even let him give her baths too. She was so tiny, he still couldn't believe it.

There were a lot of good things to counter his sadness, though. He brought Snowball home with him on the last day, feeling like he was on top of the world. He had gradually converted the room next to his into a miniature rabbit pasture. Every day he would bring up buckets of soil and spread it out. He had to get his brother's help bringing up soil at some points, since there was over three hundred square feet of ground to cover. He also got his brother's help pulling out stones of the windows to widen them and let more sunlight into the room. Then he collected grass and wildflowers and gradually used his magic to grow the plants all throughout the room until there was no soil left visible. He left a little area by the door clear so that he could reach his closet, and he used the stones he'd pulled from the windows to build a little wall so the rabbit couldn't jump over it. The magic well was visible on this side of the room, so the whole room was bathed in a lovely blue light when the sun wasn't coming through the windows.

He had to stop himself from running to his room when he got back, forcing himself to walk so he wouldn't drop the cage. He still had one night left before his punishment ended. Tomorrow was Monday, and he could see Wei Wuxian as soon as his classes were over. He couldn't wait to surprise him with what he had done. He took Snowball into the room (the rabbit room, as he'd been calling it) and opened the cage. The rabbit hopped out and sniffed around, checking out his environment.

"Welcome to your new home," Lan Zhan said.

The next day, Lan Zhan waited outside the classroom like he always did, bouncing on his toes. He just had a few classes to get through and then he and Wei Wuxian could disappear together.

Wei Wuxian felt like he had been waiting for this day forever. He and Lan Zhan were finally going to be together after all this time. They were going to kiss and cuddle and do all the things lovers did. He couldn't wait to have sex with him again too.

"Lan Zhan!" he chirped when he saw him.

Lan Zhan smiled a little and went over to meet him. He kissed him and said, “I have a surprise for you later. Multiple surprises.”

"A surprise?" Wei Wuxian asked. He suddenly felt even more excited. "What kind of surprise? Give me a hint."

Lan Zhan dragged his lip through his teeth, a mischievous look in his eyes. "One of them is something I made, the other is something I bought," he said vaguely.

Wei Wuxian's breath hitched. He tried to suppress the sudden arousal that flooded through him. "Am I going to make good on my promise? You gave me what I wanted after all," he said.

Lan Zhan tilted his head curiously. "Are you talking about the... game we were going to do?" he asked.

"Yes," Wei Wuxian replied. He lifted his eyebrows at him suggestively. "I can come over later and we can play right away."

Lan Zhan bit his lip again, his eyes lighting up. He lifted onto his tip toes and whispered in his ear, "Do you remember your role?"

"I do," Wei Wuxian said with a smirk. How could he forget? He'd been fantasising about this moment for weeks now. It would be even sweeter now they'd waited. They could save all the romantic stuff for later. "This is what you want then, yeah?"

Lan Zhan nodded. "I might wear something nice," he said. That would be a fun way to show it off. "White or black?"

"Surprise me," Wei Wuxian whispered in his ear. His smirk faded into a grin. He could hardly control how excited he was.

**\-- Skip to next chapter if you don't want to read their scene --**

After classes, Lan Zhan rushed back to his room and sighed happily. He could finally be in here without being babysat by his brother. He undressed completely and looked between the two new outfits he had made, and decided to use the black one. It was much more revealing, and he knew Wei Wuxian would go crazy over it. It was made of silk straps about an inch and a half wide, wrapping around him and criss-crossing each other to make an intricate design. It could barely be called 'clothing.'

He carefully pulled it on and then put on the black underwear he had made to match. He especially liked the top, which had a tight collar that he buttoned behind his neck. It attached to three different straps that went down his chest and under his arms.

Finally, he pulled on the black lace robe he had gotten to wear over it. It had wide sleeves and went down to his knees, and barely hid anything. He pulled his hair into a half-ponytail and took the barrier off Wei Wuxian's window, then went to sit in the middle of the room. It was snowing outside, so he hoped Wei Wuxian didn't take too long to get there.

He spent his time waiting thinking about their little pretend game and what he might expect. The setup they’d agreed upon was something like Wei Wuxian being a perverted asshole and Lan Zhan being a tease. He thought about giving him flirty, challenging looks and wandering dangerously close but just out of reach. Waiting to see how much the alpha could take before he snapped. He probably would be expecting something like this, if that were the case. Leaving his windows unblocked, wearing these sorts of things around his room. But maybe he would be hoping to tease some more, maybe prance around his room and let the alpha watch... he wouldn’t want to give in so quickly.

Wei Wuxian was incredibly excited once classes were over. He quickly headed back to his dorm to prepare. There was a role he had to play. He pulled his hair into a tight bun, tied with a red ribbon, and wrapped a scarf around his neck that he could use to tie Lan Zhan if necessary. He wasn’t supposed to be Wei Wuxian for this so he’d already prepared a few extra pieces of silk as well that could be used as a blindfold or other bindings. Once he was ready, he headed out of the alpha dorms and to the omega ones. Just like he used to, he climbed up in through the unblocked window. His heart pounded with excitement, especially when he caught sight of Lan Zhan in a black lace robe. Oh Gods. _Remember your character Wei Wuxian,_ he reminded himself.

“Lan Zhan, it’s really you,” he said in a heady, breathy voice as he approached him slowly. “You remember me, don’t you? We’re in the same class. I came to see you…”

Lan Zhan turned his head to watch him approach, fighting to keep his expression bored, then stood up and crossed his arms. “How could I forget,” he said. “What made you think you could come up here?”

"You left the windows open," Wei Wuxian said, gesturing vaguely to where he had come in. He kept slowly walking towards him, hands curling in and out of fists. "You don't have to be scared. I thought we could just spend some time together."

Lan Zhan eyed him, looking between his hands and his face. He imagined his character wouldn’t feel scared, but rather... anxious, anticipatory, morbidly curious... “Perhaps I should get dressed then,” he said, though he didn’t move anywhere. It was a probe, almost a challenge.

Wei Wuxian reached out quickly and grabbed Lan Zhan's wrist. "No! No. It's fine. We're both men, aren't we? There's nothing to be ashamed of... Besides, I think you look nice."

Lan Zhan found it hard to meet his eyes. He felt a rush of excitement from just being allowed to be _alone_ with Wei Wuxian. He was already enjoying this little game a lot, and he wanted to keep it up. He couldn’t let his excitement show.

He wondered what sorts of things Wei Wuxian’s character had done before, in their story. Had he tried to touch, had he succeeded? Did he just stare a lot? Either way, Lan Zhan’s character would have allowed it to an _extent_. He was a tease, after all. At least now he would let him touch anywhere except between his legs, at which point he would move away like nothing had happened.

He considered calling him out, but he wanted to draw this out and see how slowly Wei Wuxian would take it. Would he inch his way closer, like a frog in hot water, gradually getting hotter until it boiled? Or would he just try to take it all at once?

“Can you do me a favor then?” he asked, pulling his wrist away and walking toward his vanity.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips tentatively and followed Lan Zhan to the vanity. He met his eyes through the mirror. "What is it?"

Lan Zhan took some hair oil and unscrewed the jar, then dipped a comb into it and writes off the excess. He handed it to Wei Wuxian. “Comb my hair,” he said. “Just the bottom half.”

Wei Wuxian took the comb. He gathered Lan Zhan's hair to pull it all behind him, fingers taking some extra time to glide over his neck as he did. Then, he began combing. "Do you always dress like this in your room?" he asked.

Lan Zhan hid his amusement. Wei Wuxian sure wished he did, Lan Zhan knew. “Not always,” he said.

Wei Wuxian let out a hum and kept combing, but he eventually got bored. He wanted more. He leaned down to take a long inhale of Lan Zhan's scent from the base of his neck and then planted a kiss there.

Lan Zhan raised an eyebrow. “You’re getting bold,” he said. He didn’t move away, though.

"Isn't this what you want? You always flaunt yourself in front of me," Wei Wuxian breathed. He kept kissing up and down his neck. His hands slid over his shoulders and down to his chest. "You were waiting for me to come to your room."

“Maybe I find you amusing,” Lan Zhan said. He still didn’t move, though he considered it. He wondered how much teasing Wei Wuxian would tolerate.

Wei Wuxian put down the comb and slid his hands under the lace robe to trace the silk bindings and the inches of exposed skin. "You're so beautiful, Lan Zhan," he said.

“I know,” Lan Zhan whispered. He kept his eyes on Wei Wuxian’s hands, careful about where he would allow them to go. He had to push down the reactions he _wanted_ to make; this wasn’t his mate at the moment.

It was reasonable that Wei Wuxian’s character would already be aroused given the circumstances. He was in close proximity to this sweet-smelling omega, scantily-clad and teasing him. So, he took Lan Zhan's hand and guided it to grasp his erection through his pants.

"Feel that? That's how you make me feel."

Lan Zhan resisted the urge to grab and squeeze. He would have plenty of time to get reacquainted with it later. "That's because you're a pervert," he muttered, pulling his hand away. His tone wasn't unkind, if anything he was just as amused as before.

Looking for something to do, he rummaged in his drawer and pulled out his makeup bag. What color would look best with black? He picked the rouge and tapped his finger in it, then leaned over the vanity to get close to the mirror and carefully put it on his eyelids.

"You're lucky that you're pretty," he said.

"Hey," Wei Wuxian said, his tone turning harsh. He grabbed Lan Zhan's wrist. "What do you think you're doing, playing hard to get all of a sudden? You started this and you'll finish it."

"All of a sudden?" Lan Zhan asked, staring at Wei Wuxian through the mirror. "I haven't done anything different than I always have. Why are you aggressive all of the sudden?"

"You've been teasing me for _weeks_ , I come here, I comb your hair and tell you that you're pretty and suddenly you don't want to touch me?" Wei Wuxian said harshly. "I hardly think I'm being unreasonable."

"You think getting angry will make me want to suck your dick?" Lan Zhan asked. He pulled away and started to walk away. "What happened to spending time together?"

Wei Wuxian tutted. "You know what I meant when I said that, don't play coy with me. I don't care how your uncle lets you parade around like a whore, you're still an omega at the end of the day and your job is to lay on your back and get fucked. After how nice I've been to you, you don't think I'm owed that?"

“And you’re being nice now?” Lan Zhan asked. He wanted to laugh, but he was good at covering it up. Wei Wuxian sounded so menacing when he put on a mean act, it was almost cute. “Go back to complimenting me and you’ll have better luck.”

"You had your chance. I would've been so nice to you," Wei Wuxian said. He marched towards Lan Zhan and grabbed his wrists.

Lan Zhan threw his hands up and around to twist them out of his grip. "I let you touch me," he argued. "You think I'd give anyone else that opportunity?"

Wei Wuxian grabbed the collar of his robe and pulled him towards the bed. "I don't care," he said. "Maybe you shouldn't be such a little fucking tease."

Lan Zhan grabbed Wei Wuxian’s wrist and tried to pry his fingers off the robe. “These aren’t easy to make, you know,” he complained. “Just wait until my uncle hears about this.”

That only made Wei Wuxian tighten his grip. "I don't give a shit about your uncle. He can kick me off campus for all I care but I'd love to see the look on his face when he hears I've fucked his nephew's pussy raw."

"If I knew you were such an asshole I'd never have looked twice at you," Lan Zhan said. He untied his robe and pulled it off so he could get away.

Wei Wuxian wrapped both arms around Lan Zhan's waist and lifted him into the air. There was no more hesitation, he threw him onto the bed and climbed on after him. "If you'd behaved and done as you were told, I would have treated you so well," he said. "But you squandered it."

Lan Zhan grunted when he bounced on the bed and started to get up, having a bit more difficulty controlling his giddiness. His heart was racing with excitement and he remembered when he and Wei Wuxian played chase during his rut. "You really think I owe you sex because you're cute," he said. "How did you even get this far in life?"

Wei Wuxian growled and hit him across the cheek with an open palm. It wasn't his full strength, outside of his character he didn't _really_ want to hurt Lan Zhan, but it was enough to make a point. "Shut up you stupid bitch," he said. He pulled his scarf off and grabbed Lan Zhan's wrists.

Wei Wuxian had never hit him before, and it momentarily stunned Lan Zhan into stillness. He had managed to get this far without getting aroused – excited, absolutely, but not aroused -- and that was quickly changing. "Can't believe you're throwing away your education for this," he said once he had gained his wits back. "Am I really that irresistible?"

Wei Wuxian tied his wrists together with his scarf and then tied the other end to the bed frame. "Shouldn't you be flattered that I'm willing to do that to fuck you?" he said.

"I'm already aware that I'm attractive," Lan Zhan said. He considered struggling, but he wanted to be tied up and so he went with negotiation instead. "I'm talking about you. You couldn't wait ten more minutes to see if I'd touch you. There's still time for you to change this. I don't have to be so difficult."

"Why should I trust you?" Wei Wuxian asked. He grabbed Lan Zhan's legs and shifted to sit between them.

"Because I let you in here," Lan Zhan said. "I let you touch me and look at me like this. You think I do this for anyone else?" He finally wiggled around, kicking Wei Wuxian away. "I would have let you keep touching me if you didn't throw a hissy fit."

Wei Wuxian let out another growl and he grabbed Lan Zhan's ankle. " _You_ were the one who pulled away from me."

"It's part of playing hard-to-get you dumbass," Lan Zhan snapped, kicking his leg. "I act uninterested, you butter me up and see what I let you get away with. If I was really rejecting you I would have thrown you out the window."

"Shut up," Wei Wuxian said again. He grabbed Lan Zhan by the throat, applying light pressure, enough to silence him.

Lan Zhan saw two appealing options: he could let Wei Wuxian choke him and see how it felt from a sexual perspective rather than a martial arts one, or he could fight back more and see what would happen. But this was a position he had been in before in martial arts practice and his body itched to go through the usual motions, so he chose the second option. He hooked one leg under Wei Wuxian's arm and wrapped it around his neck, and he set his other leg on top of that ankle. It was a triangle choke, though not in a good enough position to knock him out as quickly as usual – not that he would, anyway.

Wei Wuxian brought his elbows down against the bed and managed to wiggle his way out of the hold. He'd just about had enough by now. He pulled one of the pieces of silk out of his jacket pocket and grabbed Lan Zhan by the hair to move his head and secure the silk around his mouth like a gag. "You have a lot of nerve for a slut," he hissed. He grabbed Lan Zhan by the hips and took hold of his underwear to yank them down his legs.

Lan Zhan made a disgraced noise. He didn't know what it was about the gag, but it paired with the bindings around his hands made him even more excited than before. He had to try and focus on other things, try not to get aroused and give Wei Wuxian that satisfaction. He still kicked his legs, trying to be a nuisance.

Wei Wuxian answered by grabbing one of his legs once the underwear was off and pushing it up towards his chest. He slapped Lan Zhan hard on the ass. "You're almost not worth it," he breathed. His fingers ran over Lan Zhan's entrance. "But this sweet pussy is just begging for it."

The sting brought tears to Lan Zhan's eyes. He kind of wanted him to do it again. He planted his other foot on Wei Wuxian's chest and shoved him.

That did provoke Wei Wuxian to do it again. He slapped him hard on the ass once more. "Stop being a brat," he said.

It pulled a whimper from Lan Zhan. He shoved at him again and then closed his legs, determined to keep them that way.

Wei Wuxian was having none of that. He bullied Lan Zhan's leg apart again and this time rubbed two of his fingers against his pussy before pushing them inside.

Lan Zhan struggled some more but eventually he stopped moving and sighed. He started to twist his hands, wondering if he could get them loose. He was proud of himself for not being wet or hard yet, though he knew that with Wei Wuxian’s fingers in him it wasn’t going to stay that way. This whole thing was a battle of holding himself back, which turned out to be more fun than he had thought it would be.

"Look at how well your pussy takes my fingers," Wei Wuxian said. He started moving his fingers in and out of him, curling them towards his sweet spot.

Lan Zhan twitched, trying to close his legs again. He was getting wet now, and each time Wei Wuxian's fingers went in it made a wet noise.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips and pulled his fingers out. Now that he was wet, it was more than enough. He shuffled to pull out his cock and line it up with his entrance. A loud moan slipped out of him when he finally pushed inside. "Oh fuck," he rasped. "So tight and wet..."

Lan Zhan made a noise of complaint and thrashed around again. It wasn’t as hard to fake it due to the pain after two months of not having to take Wei Wuxian’s girth. Usually he didn’t like pain, but it exhilarated him this time.

Wei Wuxian pushed Lan Zhan's legs up towards his chest, lifting his hips up off the bed and kneeling up so Lan Zhan could see where he was seated inside him. "You see this? You see how I'm deep inside your pussy?" he said. "This is how it's meant to be."

"Fucking asshole," Lan Zhan attempted to say, though he doubted his words were understood through the gag. He pulled his hands again, trying to see if he could get loose.

Wei Wuxian reached over and pulled the gag out of his mouth. "What did you say to me?"

"Fucking _asshole,"_ Lan Zhan repeated. "Go fuck yourself." How many obscenities could he come up with on the spot? He wasn't used to saying stuff like this.

That only made Wei Wuxian laugh. He started to roll his hips, pushing his cock deeper in with every thrust. "You're the one being fucked sweetheart," he said.

"You're gonna die alone," Lan Zhan said hatefully, though his tone was ineffective due to his amusement. He thrashed around again, trying to get his legs free so he could push him away.

Wei Wuxian kept a tight hold on his legs and began picking up the pace. "What if I knock you up, huh? I'm gonna knot in this sweet little pussy over and over again, until you take my seed."

“I’m not in heat, dumbass,” Lan Zhan said. It was starting to sting, his insides being rubbed raw. He might have to heal something after this. (He wondered if it was a bad thing that that excited him so much.)

"You'll have to go into heat eventually," Wei Wuxian said. One of his hands moved around to squeeze his ass before coming back around to start stroking his cock.

"You think I won't get rid of you before then?" Lan Zhan grunted. The pain and pleasure combined were difficult to bear without letting it show on his face, but he did his best.

"Who said I was going to let you go from this bed?" Wei Wuxian replied darkly.

"You want my brother to rip you a new one then?" Lan Zhan asked.

Wei Wuxian snorted and slapped Lan Zhan on the ass again. "I'll bend your brother over and fuck him too."

Lan Zhan couldn’t help it; he laughed. He managed to hide it behind a grimace and a hiss, making it look like he was in pain. "Of course you're a rutslut alpha," he grunted.

"A hole is a hole. Maybe I should fuck your ass too?" Wei Wuxian continued to taunt.

"You're disgusting," Lan Zhan hissed. He kicked his leg down with all his strength, aiming for Wei Wuxian's chest.

Wei Wuxian laughed heartily and caught the offending foot. He pushed it as close to Lan Zhan's shoulder as he could manage and kept up a brutal pace.

Lan Zhan writhed around, making a frustrated noise. He was going to cum soon if Wei Wuxian kept doing that. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing for his character? He wasn’t sure if he should encourage it or not.

"You claim that you don't like this but you do, you little slut. You love your pussy getting fucked, you want me to knot you, fill you up. I'm going to cum so deep inside you," Wei Wuxian said. He used his other hand to start stroking his cock again.

What was actually more embarrassing was the painfully out-of-character rush of _adoration_ Lan Zhan felt for Wei Wuxian as he came into his hand. It was so starkly contrasted to how he was supposed to be acting. He was just so happy to have him again, to be touched by him again. At least the tears that fell from his eyes _looked_ like they were from distress rather than gratitude and love...

Wei Wuxian let out a soft groan when he felt him cum around him, but he didn't stop pumping his cock. "See? Look at that," he breathed. "You just came because of me."

Lan Zhan gasped and plastered an offended look on his face. He wanted to wipe the tears from his face but he couldn't. "You're an asshole," complained.

"You clearly don't mind. You're dripping around my cock," Wei Wuxian said breathily.

"You're also a dumbass," Lan Zhan said. _If you touch me like that of course I'd cum eventually,_ he wanted to add, but didn't.

Wei Wuxian laughed again and it didn't take him long to meet his own end. He gave a few more hard thrusts before he came inside him with a long moan. His knot expanded and pushed against his walls.

It _stung_ and Lan Zhan jerked as the pain sparked through him. He was comforted by the fact that he would get used to this after a while, though they only had so much time before Wei Wuxian had to return to Yunmeng. He tried to rub the tears away on his arms and suffered through the pain quietly.

Wei Wuxian reached up to untie Lan Zhan from the bed and then flopped on top of him with a sigh.

Lan Zhan immediately put his hands between his legs, but it was difficult to do anything while knotted. He'd have to wait until afterward to heal whatever was down there. He pulled his hands back up to cup Wei Wuxian's cheeks. "Missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you too," Wei Wuxian mumbled back. He nuzzled against his neck and sighed. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you too bad did I?"

Lan Zhan hesitated. "It hurt, but it was appropriate," he said. "I enjoyed it. I can heal myself afterwards."

Wei Wuxian peppered his neck with kisses and mumbled again. "I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to hurt you too bad."

Lan Zhan reached under his shirt to rub his back. "I know," he said. "I liked it when you hit me. It was surprising."

"Really?" Wei Wuxian replied. He hummed and pulled back just enough to look at his face with a smile.

Lan Zhan nodded. Now that he was talking about things he liked, he continued, "I also liked what you did in the beginning. I mentioned playing the game of you touching me while I act disinterested, seeing what you will get away with. I think I would like doing that again, even if we don't pretend to be other people."

"I thought you were going to fight me more honestly," Wei Wuxian said. He cupped his cheek. "I was surprised you let me touch you at all."

Lan Zhan couldn’t help the way his lips tweaked. “I told you I was a tease,” he said. And maybe he really wanted Wei Wuxian’s hands on him anyway. It had been a long time, even since their little escapade in the staff chest.

Wei Wuxian chuckled and then leaned in to kiss him. Oh Gods how he had missed his, missed _him._

Lan Zhan kissed back lovingly, poking his tongue out to tap Wei Wuxian’s lip. He wanted to stay in bed with him forever. Skip the last two weeks of classes and just have sex with him over and over...

Wei Wuxian definitely wouldn't mind that either. He kept kissing him until he was breathless.

Once Wei Wuxian’s knot went down, Lan Zhan immediately stuck his fingers in, wincing as he did. He healed the scrapes, happy to find that they were only minor. He would definitely still be sore, but at least it wouldn’t sting anymore. He liked the soreness, anyway.


	47. Through the Back Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: insufficient prep for anal sex

“I have something else for you to see,” Lan Zhan said when he was done and put his panties back on.

Wei Wuxian had rolled over, flopping onto his back on the bed. "What is it?" he asked.

Lan Zhan sat up and stretched, then went over to where the lace robe had been discarded. He put it on and tied the sash, then went to go pick some carrots and cucumbers from his potted plants. He wordlessly opened the door that led out of his room and then opened the one right next to it. Usually he only went in here to get to his closet, but now there was another purpose. The room was currently a mix of sunlight and blue magic light, but he ignited the candles along the walls to add a warm glow to it. He climbed over the stone wall that was two and a half feet high as Snowball came bounding over in the grass and flowers. “Come in here,” he called to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian tucked his cock back in his pants and got up. He followed Lan Zhan over to the stone wall and hopped over. An audible gasp left him when he saw Snowball. "You got a rabbit! When?" he asked.

Lan Zhan sat down in the grass and held out the carrots, rubbing some of the extra dirt off them. Snowball munched on them happily. “Last night,” Lan Zhan said. “I bought Snowball with the money from working at the farm.”

"Ah, I wanted to buy you a rabbit... You're interested in having more than one though, right?" Wei Wuxian said. He crouched down to get a better look at Snowball.

Lan Zhan nodded. "There will be babies in the spring," he said. "I would like one of those." He handed Wei Wuxian the cucumbers.

"I'll buy a baby rabbit," Wei Wuxian said with a smile. He offered Snowball some of the pieces of cucumber.

Lan Zhan scooted over and leaned against Wei Wuxian happily, a soft purr starting up in his chest. He looked around the room proudly. "It took a long time to make this," he said. "I had to get da-ge's help bringing up the soil."

"It looks amazing," Wei Wuxian said. He kissed his cheek and wrapped his arm around him. "And I love your outfit. I didn't get a chance to tell you how much I love it."

Lan Zhan‘s eyes brightened, his purring getting a bit louder before he said, “I knew you would like it. You like things to be revealing. You can hardly call these ‘clothes.’”

Wei Wuxian squeezed his side and pulled him closer. "I know and that's why it's so sexy. I love black on you too, you look so good."

Lan Zhan took Wei Wuxian’s hand in his and ran it along his side and hip. “I have another one that you will enjoy. But I think this will still be your favorite.”

"I love you so much," Wei Wuxian whispered. He rubbed his fingers in circles on his hip and kissed his cheek again.

Lan Zhan hummed and rubbed his cheek on Wei Wuxian's shoulder as if he were scenting him. "Wei Wuxian," he said quietly, "I love you."

Wei Wuxian's heart pounded when he heard it. He couldn't help it any longer, he took Lan Zhan's cheeks in his hands and turned him so he could kiss him passionately.

Lan Zhan dropped the carrots and gripped Wei Wuxian's shirt, leaning into the kiss. He was a little breathless when they parted. "Stay here," he said.

He stood up and climbed back over the wall so he could go to his room again. He took off his robe on the way and unbuttoned his strappy outfit, then took out the bag where he'd left his white set. He got the main piece out first, which was just a white silk dress. The skirt of it was loose and short, something that would flutter if he turned quickly and undoubtedly expose him. The sleeves were something like what he normally wore, long and wide at the ends. His favorite part was the embroidery he'd done on it. At the bottom of the skirt he'd sewed a green, spiky hem that looked like grass, and on the right side he'd embroidered a white rabbit with a single black thread. It was quite adorable. After that was on, he pulled on the lacy white underwear. The front and back were made of silk, but the sides that went over his hips were made of lace. Over that was a garter belt that attached to long lace stockings that went up to his thighs. He had made regular silk stockings as well for when he wanted to be more comfortable, but now he wanted to show off. The top of the stockings didn't even reach the bottom of the skirt, and there was a strip of milky white skin in between, only broken by the garter straps. He finally put on the collar he'd made out of silk, just the perfect tightness when he buttoned it. He turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. The skirt of the dress was so short that the bottom of his ass was visible when he bent down even a little, and it only barely covered his front bits. It wasn't nearly as revealing as the other outfit, but it was _just_ enough of skin to tease.

He returned to the rabbit room but he didn't climb over this time. He didn't want to get his stockings dirty, so he just stayed right outside of it. "Come see," he said.

Wei Wuxian turned around to look at him and his breath hitched. How did Lan Zhan look so stunning in everything he wore? He truly knew what complimented his body. He got up from where he was sat and climbed over the wall to put his hands on Lan Zhan's hips and look him up and down. "Wow," he said. "You look amazing."

Lan Zhan bit his lip and pushed down his pride to do a little twirl. He wanted Wei Wuxian to really appreciate it. “I think this is my favorite,” he said. “It is more comfortable than the others. I might like to wear this even when you’re not here.”

Wei Wuxian's eyes shot down when he twirled and the skirt lifted slightly. "As long as you don't twirl around like that," he said. He grabbed Lan Zhan by the thighs and lifted him up to carry him. "It really leaves nothing to the imagination."

A giggle popped out of Lan Zhan when he was picked up and he slapped a hand over his mouth. He wrapped an arm around Wei Wuxian’s neck and rested his cheek on his shoulder happily. “Do you like the garter straps?” he asked. “I got the idea from that store we went to in the Capitol.”

"I do," Wei Wuxian said. He let one of his hands wander up to squeeze his ass. "I could live between your thighs you know."

Lan Zhan wrapped his legs around Wei Wuxian’s waist and squeezed. “I would like that,” he said. “I’ll make a home for you there.”

Wei Wuxian carried Lan Zhan over to the nearest wall and leaned him against it before leaning in to kiss him.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth to let him in, and let his tongue dart out to tease him. He was insatiable apparently, since just being held up like this was enough to make his dick twitch.

Wei Wuxian was happy to deepen the kiss. He nipped on Lan Zhan's bottom lip and tugged, only pulling away completely when he was breathless. "Wow," he said.

Lan Zhan only took a second to breathe harshly before he went in for another hungry kiss. “Nest,” he forced out against his mouth.

Wei Wuxian nodded sharply before carrying Lan Zhan across the room to his nest. He lay him down amongst all the pillows and blankets and climbed on top of him only to capture him in another heated kiss.

Lan Zhan couldn’t take it anymore. He sat up and pushed Wei Wuxian onto his back so he could straddle him, his knees spread wide. He kissed him like a depraved person, barely giving them time to breathe.

"Gods, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian whispered between kisses. His hands ran greedily up Lan Zhan's thighs, squeezing the soft flesh there and rubbing his thumbs along the garters.

Lan Zhan made a desperate-sounding noise. “Touch me,” breathed, taking one hand to pull Wei Wuxian’s up over his ass and side. He wanted Wei Wuxian’s hands all over him.

That was something Wei Wuxian was happy to do. He ran his hands up and down his sides. One slid down to remain on his ass, giving it a good squeeze. His other rubbed down over his front, sliding over his cock.

Lan Zhan pushed into that hand, rutting into it. “It’s been difficult,” he admitted as he pressed his face into Wei Wuxian’s neck.

"I jerked off so many times thinking of you when we were apart," Wei Wuxian breathed. He kept rubbing his cock through the soft fabric. "I missed you so much."

Lan Zhan whimpered pathetically when another thought occurred to him. “My next two heats are going to be miserable,” he said. He really was going to be a sobbing, wailing mess.

"I'm sorry," Wei Wuxian whispered. He slid his hand inside his underwear to touch his cock directly. "You just have to hold out until we're married and then... and then we can do whatever we want."

Lan Zhan kissed a trail from his neck to his lips, then kissed him some more. When they parted he said, “I had to think of really weird things to get off. Otherwise I just couldn’t. I couldn’t at all before a few weeks ago.”

"Tell me some of them," Wei Wuxian breathed. He groaned a little when Lan Zhan kissed down his neck, his fist wrapping around Lan Zhan's cock and pumping it leisurely.

“The demon version of you was a popular one,” Lan Zhan said, pushing into Wei Wuxian’s hand. The words came surprisingly easy after so long. “Also thinking about you in rut shoving me to the floor like you did. Fucking me in front of other alphas too. Wei Wuxian... make me something? Like your cock but smaller. I’m sore.” He suppressed an amused smile. “How big would it be if you were an omega?”

It was an interesting thought. Lan Zhan had talked about his omega self a fair number of times, if Wei Wuxian didn't know better, he'd say he was more in love with the fantasy of him being an omega than him being himself. Wei Wuxian hummed and focused his magical energy to form a small dildo. It was a lot smaller than his own cock, not nearly as thick or as long. "How about this?" he asked.

Lan Zhan hummed. “Make it a little thinner,” he said. He didn’t want anymore stretching at the moment, not when he had to heal it recently. “Can you make it smooth? Doesn’t have to look real. Like...” he paused to think. “Like the tentacles?”

That had Wei Wuxian laughing. He turned the dildo into something thinner, slightly less rounded and looked similar to his tentacles. "Like this?"

Lan Zhan nodded. “Mm.” He wiggled a little, then sat up on his knees and pushed his panties down after unbuckling his garter straps. He lay down on Wei Wuxian so he could push him off his legs, then he sat back up again. He buckled the garter straps back onto the belt.

"Gods, you're so sexy," Wei Wuxian whispered. He ran his fingers carefully over Lan Zhan's opening, feeling him begin to get wet already. A part of him wished he hadn't pounded him so hard earlier.

Lan Zhan rolled his hips a little. He loved the way Wei Wuxian watched him; it was one of the things he missed the most. “I love how you look at me,” he murmured.

"Good because you look good enough to eat," Wei Wuxian said with a chuckle. He dipped just the one finger in and out of his pussy and found him still wet and open from their prior activities. So, he took the small tentacle toy and stayed easing it inside.

Lan Zhan instinctively bit his lip. He rested his hands on Wei Wuxian’s chest to ground himself, then he started moving up and down slowly. He liked this a lot; the toy was small and didn’t stretch him in any way, but it still felt good inside him.

The good thing about the toy being conjured was that Wei Wuxian could move it without holding it. He let go of the toy carefully and moved both hands to squeeze Lan Zhan's ass while he moved the toy slowly in and out of him. "That good?" he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. “Tilt it forward,” he said, rolling his hips and trying to get it against his sweet spot.

Wei Wuxian hummed in approval and tilted the toy forwards, towards the spot that always had Lan Zhan seeing stars.

Lan Zhan tilted his head back and bit his lip again, his hips jerking back and forth as he sought more. He found that having a small toy really was just as good if it hit the right spot.

"You're incredible, you know," Wei Wuxian mumbled. He squeezed his ass again. "I'm almost sad I fucked you so hard earlier and you're sore."

Lan Zhan made a low sound. “You can do it again after this,” he said hesitantly. “If you go slow. I can take it.”

"I don't want to hurt you," Wei Wuxian said. He ran one of his hands up the small of his back. "I wish I could fuck your ass."

Lan Zhan clenched a little. Could he do that again? The most he’d been able to take was one single finger, anything else was too strange for him to enjoy. He supposed he could try... if it didn’t _hurt_ then it would be better than putting it in the other hole right? And even if it felt weird, it would definitely not feel as gross as putting it in his mouth. “You have to do something for me first,” he said.

Wei Wuxian blinked quickly. Was he... actually agreeing to that? His cock twitched with excitement. "Anything," he said.

Lan Zhan rolled his hips again. “After I finish, go get a bowl of hot water, soap and a washcloth. I don’t want you touching me after having your fingers in my ass.”

Wei Wuxian couldn't help but laugh. "Okay." He focused on rocking the toy into Lan Zhan's sweet spot and moved one hand around to gently stroke his cock.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and settled his mind on the sensations. It felt so good compared to what he’d had to do lately, especially when he had that addicting alpha scent with him now. He kept chewing on his abused bottom lip and his movements grew jerky as he got closer. _“Wei Wuxian,”_ he forced out right before he came with a short moan, his expression twisting with bliss.

"Beautiful," Wei Wuxian said. He admired Lan Zhan for a moment before he took the toy out and let it dissipate. Before he got up, he leaned in for a brief kiss.

Lan Zhan returned the kiss before flopping down on his back in his nest. He pulled many of his stuffed animals close around him so he could hug them and be cozy.

Wei Wuxian got up from the nest and got everything Lan Zhan had asked for: a bowl of hot water, soap, and a washcloth. As well as this, he picked up some oil for the situation. He carried them back into the nest and set them down. "I got them," he said.

Lan Zhan hummed appreciatively. He bent his legs and let them fall to the sides. “Start with one,” he said.

"Okay. Tell me if you want me to stop, okay? You know the colours," Wei Wuxian replied. He popped the cap on the oil and spread some over his fingers. Firstly, he rubbed his finger gently over Lan Zhan's asshole, smearing the lube over it, before he eased it inside.

Lan Zhan hummed again. He was sleepy after everything they’d done so far, which he guessed was a good thing because it dampened his nervousness. He hugged his fox plushie and watched as Wei Wuxian got ready.

Wei Wuxian rubbed Lan Zhan's thigh with his other hand, moving up and down. He sunk his finger all the way into the knuckle and wiggled it around before thrusting it slowly.

Just like last time, it felt weird. Lan Zhan made a soft noise and forced himself to stay still. He wanted to squirm away, but he was hoping that he would get used to it.

"Tell me when I can add a second one," Wei Wuxian said. He kept moving his finger inside him and giving his thigh a squeeze.

Lan Zhan nodded to let him know he’d heard. He stayed like that for a few minutes, wondering if it would get any better. If he pushed away his squeamishness and didn’t think about what _usually_ happened in there, it felt kind of good. In an oddly-satisfying kind of way. “You can add another,” he said quietly.

"If it feels too weird or uncomfortable, touch your cock," Wei Wuxian suggested. He pulled his finger out and added more oil before easing in two of his fingers.

Lan Zhan moved one hand from his plushie to wrap around his cock and gave it a little squeeze before stroking it lazily. It had softened over the past few minutes, but he could feel it twitching back to life now. "Can you bring your tentacles back?" he asked.

That was simple enough. Wei Wuxian summoned a few of his tentacles to slid up Lan Zhan's body before affectionately nuzzling against his cheek.

Lan Zhan purred for a few seconds, happy to see them again after so long. He took one in his free hand and pulled it to his mouth so he could suck on it. He was sure this would help distract him.

For once, Wei Wuxian didn't mind. He was content to let him do whatever he wanted while he manoeuvred his fingers in and out of his hole.

Lan Zhan closed his eyes and focused on the sensations in his mouth and his cock. After a few minutes he felt more comfortable and he opened his eyes again. “Is that all you should do?” he asked.

"I can add a third if you're unsure about me jumping straight to my dick," Wei Wuxian suggested, cocking an eyebrow.

Lan Zhan bit his lip nervously. “Three is a lot,” he mumbled. He already felt stretched, adding another finger would surely stretch him too much. But people did this all the time, right? How else would alpha men have sex...

"Well, like I said, we can go straight to me putting it in if you want," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan squirmed and squeezed the tentacle in his hand. “Would it hurt?” he asked.

"I won't lie to you, probably a bit. It even hurt a little when you fucked me for the first time but you get used to it and then it gets better. I'll use lots of oil and take it slow. You know what to say if you want me to stop at any time, okay?" Wei Wuxian said.

Lan Zhan chewed on his lip again. He was going to hurt no matter what, apparently. It wasn’t like a little pain was a terrible thing. He could just do it this once and then never do it again if he didn’t like it. He nodded. “Go ahead,” he said.

Wei Wuxian nodded. He pulled his fingers out and grabbed the oil. Once he had pulled his cock out, he lathered it generously in the oil and then rubbed more over Lan Zhan's hole. He took a deep breath and lined up before carefully inching his way inside. "Wow..." he breathed. "Tight."

Lan Zhan had to put everything he had into keeping his ass relaxed even as it stretched past its limit. He wanted to tighten up, but he knew that would just hurt more. He made a shaky noise and squeezed the tentacle over and over, his eyes wide. He took his hand off his cock and put it further down, sending his magic through and searching around. He healed what he could, though it was hard to do while Wei Wuxian’s cock was still inside him.

"I know it's hard but you need to relax," Wei Wuxian said. He was very slow in how much he pushed in at a time, no matter how much he wanted to shove right in that welcoming heat.

Lan Zhan’s lip shook slightly and he forced himself to lay back down and take deep breaths. “Wash your hand off before you start,” he said weakly.

Wei Wuxian nodded. He washed his hand in the hot water and with the soap. Once it was clean, he put his hands on his hips and then eased the rest of the way inside.

Lan Zhan continued to take deep breaths, struggling to keep them even as Wei Wuxian pushed all the way inside. It felt wrong, but he was sure it was because it was a new sensation. It would get better... surely.

"Gods, it's so tight... This must be what it was like when you fucked me, huh?" Wei Wuxian said. He leaned down to kiss him, hands squeezing his hips lightly while he waited for Lan Zhan to adjust.

Lan Zhan made a noise in his throat. He grimaced a little for a moment, waiting for the discomfort to fade. When he thought he could handle it he said, “You can move.”

Wei Wuxian nodded. He slowly started to move, rocking his hips into him, and letting out a loud moan.

Lan Zhan put the tentacle back in his mouth and sucked on it for comfort. He still didn’t understand what Wei Wuxian got out of this. But then again, he liked being slapped and fantasizing about being impregnated by a demon version of his mate, so he didn’t have a lot of room to talk.

"I've claimed all of your holes now. You're mine," Wei Wuxian breathed. He leaned down and kissed down his neck, picking up the pace of his hips.

Lan Zhan tilted his head back. He wanted to tell him to slow back down, but he stopped himself. It didn’t hurt anymore, and the oil made everything slick and easy. It was still _weird,_ but he could handle it. He wouldn’t exactly call it unpleasant either. “You should claim me again,” he said.

Wei Wuxian let out a little growl and then bit down on his neck to claim him. He held down even as he kept thrusting in, and then let go once the claim would last a good month. He licked his lips and ran his hands up and down his thighs again.

Lan Zhan let out a sob, squeezing his plushie and the tentacle hard in his hands. He felt like he was aching all over now, from his neck to between his legs. But all he could think was, _I should have Wei Wuxian make a hard claim that will last until the spring semester..._

"I love you. I love you so much," Wei Wuxian whispered in his ear. He experimented with the angle that he thrusted in until he found where it felt good.

Lan Zhan was surprised when Wei Wuxian was able to get his sweet spot like this. It was muted and he could barely feel it compared to hitting it directly, but it was _there_.

Wei Wuxian instantly noticed the change in his reaction. He grinned a bit and thrust harder into that spot.

Lan Zhan grunted and reached up to grab Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. He wasn’t sure how much rougher he could take, but he wasn’t going to complain, not when it kind of felt good like that.

"How is it? You feel good," Wei Wuxian mumbled. He kept up a steady pace.

“It’s weird,” Lan Zhan said. He pressed the tentacle to his cheek and held it there like it was a stuffed animal.

"Where do you want me to cum?" Wei Wuxian asked breathily. He kissed down his neck again and licked over his claim.

“Wherever,” Lan Zhan said absently. Having Wei Wuxian cum in his ass was going to be nasty, but it wouldn’t last forever, and Wei Wuxian was really bent on claiming every part of him...

Wei Wuxian nodded. He kept drilling into his sweet spot before he found himself reaching his own peak. With another long, loud moan, he came. He spilt hot inside Lan Zhan's ass and his knot began to expand.

Lan Zhan knew that Wei Wuxian was going to knot, but he hadn’t really thought about whether he’d be able to handle it this time. He probably should have, considering the pain that shot through him. _Gods,_ it _hurt._  
  
Lan Zhan tensed up and grit his teeth, willing himself not to make any noise by holding his breath. Hot tears filled his eyes and he gripped Wei Wuxian’s arms tightly. There was no way he didn’t just tear something... _You’re a healer,_ he told himself repeatedly. _Don’t worry about it._

"Does it hurt? I'm sorry," Wei Wuxian mumbled. He meant it, though he didn't regret any of this in the slightest. It had all felt very good after all.

“‘S fine,” Lan Zhan gritted out. He could smell blood, but that didn’t bother him too much; he knew there was a tear already. He grabbed the washcloth and squeezed the water out, then carefully put it under him so it could catch any blood that happened to drip. He felt around with his magic, but there was no way he could heal it with the knot in there. “You’re lucky I’m a healer,” he attempted to joke.

Wei Wuxian let out a low whine. He nuzzled against his neck and crooned at him in hopes of appeasing his omega. There was no worse feeling than knowing you'd hurt your mate.

The croon did help more than Lan Zhan expected it to. He supposed it made sense, if croons were supposed to calm distressed babies. He slowly relaxed, letting his legs gradually rest. He wiped his tears and held onto Wei Wuxian, focusing on that sound and accompanying scent.

Wei Wuxian was content to lay there, crooning at his mate until he was ready to pull out. And when he did, he did so with a sigh.

Lan Zhan held his breath when he did so he wouldn’t make any pathetic noises. He didn’t want to stick his fingers inside himself so he parted them around his hole and pressed down so he could send his healing magic through. While he did that. He wiped at it with the washcloth and then wiped all of the... _stuff_ off of Wei Wuxian’s cock. Between the oil, cum and the bit of blood (and who knows what else), Lan Zhan didn’t know what to find the most distasteful. He was _definitely_ going to be sore for a day or two, with or without healing. But that wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” he said honestly.

"I did," Wei Wuxian said. He sat back on his haunches and took the washcloth once Lan Zhan was done. He rinsed it in the water and then cleaned off his cock once more before tucking it back in his pants. Then, he laid down next Lan Zhan. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lan Zhan nodded. He kept healing himself until there was nothing else to heal, then he relaxed and unbuckled his garter straps so he could carefully remove his lace stockings. He folded them and set them aside, then turned to snuggle into Wei Wuxian. At least the pain wasn’t like a knife was being shoved up his ass anymore. It was more like the soreness in his other hole now. He kind of liked it, but he wouldn’t say that out loud.

“It hurts but not too bad now,” he mumbled into Wei Wuxian’s collarbone.

"We don't have to do it again if you don't want to," Wei Wuxian replied. He kissed the top of his head and wrapped his arms around him.

"Let's leave my ass alone," Lan Zhan said, only half joking. "The tentacles can do it."

"The tentacles can fuck your ass but I can't?" Wei Wuxian asked curiously. He would _definitely_ have to speed up the process of feeling through his tentacles if so.

Lan Zhan hummed. "You make your tentacles so squishy," he said. "There’s no hardness. They wouldn't stretch me that much and it wouldn't hurt. It is also why I like to suck on them."

"You know, if you were an alpha, I would have no choice but to fuck your ass," Wei Wuxian said with a hint of amusement.

"If I was an alpha I'd be the one fucking you," Lan Zhan countered. He yawned as he got tired.

Wei Wuxian cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Bold claim. What makes you so sure?"

Lan Zhan tapped his shoulder. "I already told you I would be different as an alpha," he said. "I'd be an asshole. I wouldn't want to be dominated by anyone."

"I don't know, the longer I know you, the less convinced I am that it would be true," Wei Wuxian said with a smirk.

“Why?” Lan Zhan asked. “I don’t even know that we would be together. You would probably get in a fight with me.”

Wei Wuxian hummed. "You know me better than that. I'm not very confrontational, it'd only be if you were harassing an omega that I might fight with you. I'd like to think you'd have _some_ common decency, not like those animals out there who make you feel worthless."

Lan Zhan shook his head. “Why would I?” he asked. “Da-ge has to be mature but I wouldn’t. I’d be an alpha raised among young alpha men who harass omegas when they can get away with it.” Feeling cynical he added, “And who says I as an omega wouldn’t harass a pretty omega boy had you not taken my heart first?” Of course, that would be different, but that wasn’t the point.

"I just don't believe it," Wei Wuxian replied. He nuzzled against his cheek. "The Lan Zhan I know is sweeter than that. He may not want to admit it but it's true."

Lan Zhan sighed heavily. It reminded him of the things his mother said about him. He didn’t know why everyone thought he was so kindhearted... “I miss Xiao Mao,” he said, changing the subject.

"Maybe Xiao Mao and Hudie could meet some day," Wei Wuxian said. He decided to let it slide, let Lan Zhan change the topic.

Lan Zhan nodded. “I might ask if Hudie could go play with the Shi family when she gets older.” He was quiet for a moment while he thought, then he said, “I will have to fill my time during the winter. I am thinking about continuing to teach the children, and taking private lessons with some professors like I have done before. I will also be busy growing food and mixing heating potions...”

"We'll send letters," Wei Wuxian said. He took Lan Zhan's hands in his. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Lan Zhan pulled one of Wei Wuxian’s hands up so he could kiss the back of it. “I’ll miss you too,” he said quietly. He really didn’t know how he was going to last. He almost wished he could forget about Wei Wuxian just for these four months, and go through them the same way he did all the other ones.


	48. Birthday Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian have to part for the winter, but before that they spend Wei Wuxian's birthday at the carnival.

Lan Zhan was of course very sore the next day, but he hid it well. And as soon as classes were over, he and Wei Wuxian had more sex. It repeated like that for two weeks; they couldn’t get their hands off each other, and their sex ranged from violent and rough to sweet lovemaking. Even when they were too tired to keep going, they stayed wrapped in each other’s arms, savoring every moment they had together.

The last day of classes was Wei Wuxian’s birthday. The students were supposed to move out the next day, but Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin packed their bags a day early, and right after their classes they got in a carriage with Lan Zhan and headed to the capitol. Lan Zhan slept most of the way and they arrived after midnight. They spent the next day working the shops around the city, Lan Zhan flexing his life magic skills. They stopped by Lan Qingheng’s shop and said hello, then rested for a while at his house.

That evening, they planned to attend the carnival. It was held for a month in the fall, and it was full of fun games and cool things to watch. A lot of mages made good coin there, using basic tricks to wow the common people. It was normal to see conjuration mages doing grand light shows too. Seeing those at night was truly amazing.

Lan Zhan spent an hour preparing, having kicked Wei Wuxian out of his room. He had made many outfits specifically for Wei Wuxian to enjoy, though he had kept this one a secret until his birthday. It wasn’t lingerie this time, but rather a beautiful, decorative hanfu. It was a deep red, Wei Wuxian’s favorite color, and it had white accents embroidered into the hems and into motifs toward the bottom. It was a women’s cut, so the top part went straight across his chest and under his arms, and the outer robe simply laid over his shoulders and was tied into the sash, exposing his collarbones and a bit of his chest. The sleeves were long and flowing, and the outer robe was made of multiple layers of thin, sheer fabric. Lan Zhan tied half of his hair up into a topknot and pulled his bangs into it as well, though he let them hang down over his forehead ribbon and the sides of his face before they were wrapped into it. He topped it off with a hair ornament. It was the same white one that Wei Wuxian had bought him earlier that year, but he had added some red flowers to it to make it match his outfit. He finished his look with some rouge on his eyelids and lips, and a bit of kohl too. He rarely wore anything outside that showed his collarbones, and he also rarely wore makeup, so this was definitely a sight to see. He also liked how the sash hugged his waist so well, showing off how thin it was. He knew Wei Wuxian was going to die when he saw it. He stepped out of his room and quietly made his way to the front where Wei Wuxian was waiting.

"Finally," Wei Wuxian said with a sigh. Lan Zhan had spent such a long time in their room, forbidding him from entering it, and he was eager to see what had taken so long. When he turned around, his jaw almost dropped to the floor. Lan Zhan was nothing short of breath-taking. What an honour it would be to have such a beautiful omega on his arm like that. He would surely be the envy of every alpha around.

"Oh wow," he breathed. He walked towards him and put his hands on his hips, eyes roving over every inch of him. He liked that his claim was still on show and how he could eat up every inch of delicious skin of his collarbone. Finally, he drew his gaze back up to his face, taking in the sight of the light makeup which complimented his face. "You're amazing."

Lan Zhan resisted the urge to bite his lip and instead fiddled with Wei Wuxian’s clothes. “Do you want to make another claim that will last until spring?” he asked quietly, tilting his head a little to show the side of his neck that was bare. “We can go to the kitchen to get a cloth...” That would be entering hard claim territory. The kind that broke the skin and bled. Lan Zhan hadn’t wanted one of those before, but facing four lonely months ahead...

"Are you sure? You know it'll hurt," Wei Wuxian asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. “You don’t have to do it too long,” he said. “Once it bleeds you can stop.” He took Wei Wuxian’s hand and led him to the kitchen. The water here was cold, but that would probably be welcome once the claim was made. He found a washcloth and tucked it around his neck, protecting his hanfu. He pulled his hair to the other side and waited.

Wei Wuxian licked his lips anxiously and eyed the bare spot on his neck. The idea of hurting Lan Zhan wasn't appealing to him at all. But... if it was what he wanted... He leaned in and latched his teeth into the base of his neck, biting him hard. The second he tasted the metallic tang of blood, he pulled away.

Lan Zhan was proud of himself for not making any noise. Though he had held his breath and grit his teeth so hard that his head hurt. He let go of the sink and got another washcloth to wet with cold water and replace the dry one. It stung like hell and he could feel the pulsing of it; he knew it was going to hurt for a day or two, but he would welcome it. He wanted to look at it but there weren’t any mirrors around.   
  
After a minute he took the cloth off and patted it dry with the other one. It came off with a little red, but it wasn’t enough to cause concern. “How does it look?” he asked, his voice a little rough. He cleared his throat.

"Sore," Wei Wuxian replied. He would've been sad about it had seeing it not sent sparks of arousal up his spine, remembering what it all meant.

Lan Zhan decided to keep his hair to one side for now and let the claim be undisturbed. He pulled Wei Wuxian out of the house and then latched onto his arm, leading him toward the carnival. He loved the way the new claim put more spice into his scent than before. “I wonder if they will have acrobats this time,” he said casually.

"Maybe. I used to like carnivals when I was younger. Jiang Wanyin and I would always compete with each other to get the best prize from the stalls, at least until we ran out of spending money," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan hummed. “I remember when they started putting neutralization charms on the stalls here,” he said. “Mages were coming in and using magic to win everything.”

"Yeah. Believe me, we used to do it all the time back in Yunmeng. It was basically a contest of which stall was giving away the biggest stuff," Wei Wuxian said fondly with a laugh.

Lan Zhan huffed a laugh. “You cheated,” he said. Curiously he asked, “Did they have light shows in Yunmeng? Using conjuration?”

Wei Wuxian nodded. "Yeah. There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to get into conjuration but... I did like those light shows."

When they got closer to the carnival site, Lan Zhan noticed people staring at him. It wasn’t uncommon for omegas to wear hanfu, but Lan Zhan’s was so elegant and decorative that of course it turned heads. “Do you enjoy having me as arm candy?” he asked, his tone amused.

"Oh, I do," Wei Wuxian replied. He grinned a bit as the heads turned, preening as they seethed with jealousy because of the beautiful omega on his arm. "Who can blame them for looking like that? You're stunning and I am a very lucky alpha."

Lan Zhan held back a smug expression. “I enjoy being arm candy too,” he said. He really did; especially with that big fat claim on his neck (and the lighter claim on the other side too). “We should do this every now and then.”

"After the winter break, I'd like that," Wei Wuxian said. He leaned over to press a gentle kiss on the side of Lan Zhan's head.

Lan Zhan leaned into him as they walked. He rested his cheek on his shoulder and savored the feeling. He was hit with a moment of sadness, knowing that in the morning they’d be parting ways. When they finally got to the gates, Lan Zhan paid for two entry tickets and then pulled Wei Wuxian inside. “Where should we go first?” he asked.

"I want to get something to eat. Let's have a look at the food stalls. Are you hungry?" Wei Wuxian asked. He looked around and started heading towards the food stands.

Lan Zhan eyed the fried desserts heavily. He could wait until later to get something like that... “I’d like some dumplings,” he said.

"You know, I was thinking that too," Wei Wuxian said. He picked a stand and ordered some regular dumplings and then some extra spicy ones for himself. When they arrived, he handed Lan Zhan's to him.

While Wei Wuxian had his back turned, an alpha had been looking like he wanted to come over. Lan Zhan felt shameless and stared challengingly, but the alpha apparently changed his mind when Wei Wuxian turned around and handed him some dumplings. Lan Zhan happily took them and went to sit at a table. “You would think I was one of the performers,” he commented before he bit into one.

"You'd outshine all of them," Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He bit into one of his dumplings too. "They'd have nothing on your beauty and talents."

“I would do well as a performer,” Lan Zhan said idly. He could play the guqin and sing, after all. If he was ever in need of money he could make a pretty penny that way. He would probably hate it, though.

After they were finished eating, the two started to wander around and look for things to do. Lan Zhan looked at the high striker as a burly man hit the lever so hard that the puck shot straight up and rang the bell loudly. He didn’t even seem to be using that much strength...

“Hey there pretty miss,” the operator said, clearly mistaking him for a woman. “Come on up, will you? Give it a try. I’ll give you one of these prizes if you make it to the third line!”

Lan Zhan looked. The tower was marked into fourths, with three lines in the middle to indicate the different levels. The third one was three-fourths of the way up. He hummed thoughtfully. He could probably do it. He let go of Wei Wuxian’s hand and went over to the tower. He picked up the hammer, bounced it in his hands for a minute and looked up the tower. He could do it.

He took a deep breath and held the hammer over his head. Using all of his strength he slammed it down, and to his surprise he heard the bell ring. It was soft, indicating that the puck had only just tapped it before falling back down, but it was still impressive. He looked back at Wei Wuxian; his alpha was the only one who’d recognize the pride in his expression.

It _was_ impressive. Wei Wuxian clapped and cheered. Honestly, it kind of turned him on how strong Lan Zhan was, and he knew that he could turn most of these alphas on their heads with his martial arts. "That's my mate!" he whooped.

Lan Zhan’s ears burned with embarrassment from the praise. He went over to the operator and said, “I want the yo-yo with the flower on it.”

The operator was stunned into silence, and Lan Zhan wasn’t sure if it was because of him winning or the fact that he’d mistaken him for a woman. After a few seconds he said, “Of course, of course. Here you go. Go ahead and pick another one. You’ve got a hell of an arm!”

Lan Zhan hummed, then said, “The chocolate duck.” The operator handed him the package that was labeled as such and he happily took it, setting it and the yo-yo in the bag he’d brought with him. “Thank you,” he said, then returned to Wei Wuxian and took his hand.

Wei Wuxian happily took his hand. He leaned over to kiss his cheek with a smile. Then, he whispered in his ear. "You're so hot when you show them up like that."

Lan Zhan leaned into him and hid a smile. “Should I work out this winter then?” he asked. It wouldn’t hurt to go to the training room every now and then... “If my arms get too big then I won’t be as pretty.”

"You could never not be pretty in my eyes," Wei Wuxian said. "But I'm not against the idea of you getting even stronger..."

Lan Zhan hummed. “Maybe I will,” he said. He paused in his walking when he saw a certain stall that had a _wall_ full of stuffed animals. There were massive ones at the top. He eyed the rabbit plushie. It was bigger than the ones he had seen at the plushie shop in the city... it had to be three, four feet tall. He looked at the game. He wasn’t very good at these kinds of things. Slamming down a hammer didn’t require any precision...

Wei Wuxian followed his gaze. He saw the giant stuffed animals and smiled to himself. "You want one of those?" he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded. “That rabbit one...” he said quietly. He looked at Wei Wuxian. Was he going to try to get it? He did say he had grown up playing these games...

"Come on, I'll win it for you," Wei Wuxian said, walking over to the stall. He thought he had a pretty good shot at it.

Lan Zhan followed him and stood a little to the side. He spotted a couple of omegas eyeing him and Wei Wuxian, especially the latter. He paid them no mind, though he wondered what they were thinking. Not all omega women were fond of their male counterparts.

Given that he couldn't use his magic, Wei Wuxian did not win the big prize first time around. It took a couple goes but then he'd got the knack of it, remembering all the tricks he'd learnt growing up.

The stall vendor clearly looked shocked when he finally won a big prize. "Which one?" he asked.

"The big rabbit please," Wei Wuxian replied, pointing. The man got down the giant rabbit plushie and handed it to Wei Wuxian who then gave it Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan couldn’t suppress his grin this time. He took it in his arms and purred into it excitedly. It was soft and _huge._ He couldn’t even see over it. “Thank you,” he said, leaning in to kiss him.

Wei Wuxian happily kissed him back, not caring about who could see them. He grabbed his waist and pulled him in as close as he could.

Lan Zhan could feel eyes on him but he ignored them. He pulled Wei Wuxian to the side and kissed him for a moment, then rested his cheek on his collarbone. “I love you,” he said.

"I love you more," Wei Wuxian replied. He kissed the top of his head and smiled to himself.

Lan Zhan was glad that he had worn the sash that he did, because it was made of multiple strips of fabric to widen it. He took off one of them and tied it around his rabbit in a way that he could wear it as a backpack. Once it was secured to his back he took Wei Wuxian’s hand and led him through the crowd.

After a little while of playing games and making bets, Lan Zhan was drawn to a site where it looked like some beautiful lights were being tossed into the sky. His eyes widened when he saw who it was in the clearing, though. He recognized Ouyang Zizhen from the university, though he had graduated a few years earlier. It made sense that a conjuration mage would end up here. “I know him,” Lan Zhan said, pulling Wei Wuxian closer through the crowds so he could see better.

"Oh?" Wei Wuxian replied. It was only natural for him to bristle a little when Lan Zhan said he was familiar with another alpha. He knew Lan Zhan loved him - he'd said that multiple times - but he still felt a bit on guard.

Wei Wuxian was probably right to be wary — Ouyang Zizhen was quite handsome. He was one of the first alphas that had really caught Lan Zhan’s eye, since he was around thirteen when the alpha had first attended. It had been nothing more than that; Lan Zhan would hardly even call it a crush, just... someone he liked to stare at all day. Never even talked to the guy properly in the four years he was there. He was too young at the time, anyways. He was sixteen the last time Ouyang Zizhen saw him.

The light show wasn’t very impressive to mages since it was commonplace for conjuration students to learn light tricks, but it was beautiful from an artistic standpoint. Lan Zhan especially liked the blue color that was used, like a blue sky but more vibrant. He also liked the sparkles. It didn’t take long for Ouyang Zizhen to recognize him. He looked shocked, but took it in stride. “Young Master Lan,” he called, “Catch!”

Lan Zhan held out his hands to catch the sparkling ball that was thrown his way. It was solid, though it looked like nothing more than dazzling sparkles in all kinds of colors. He watched in amusement as it poofed into a cloud of sparkles that faded away. Realizing that everyone was staring, he latched onto Wei Wuxian’s arm and blushed from the attention that had been drawn to him. Thankfully the show continued and took the eyes away from him.

"He seems to take a fancy to you," Wei Wuxian said, nudging Lan Zhan's side lightly. He made a jest to keep himself sane and not from burrowing himself in jealousy.

The idea was actually amusing to Lan Zhan. “He’s too old,” he said. “I was thirteen when he was a first-year. He’s probably married now.” He noticed Wei Wuxian’s scent change and nudged him back, even more amused. “Do not be jealous. He is attractive but you are the most handsome of any alpha.”

"I'm not jealous," Wei Wuxian huffed. He smiled a little when Lan Zhan complimented him though and leaned down to give him a quick kiss.

Once the show was over, Lan Zhan took Wei Wuxian over to put some coins in the box meant for donations once the other people had already done so. “Lan Zhan!” Ouyang Zizhen said as he came over. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” He looked at Wei Wuxian and nodded in greeting. “I’m Ouyang Zizhen. I’m a Lan university alumnus.”

"Yes, Lan Zhan told me," Wei Wuxian said. He smiled at Ouyang Zizhen and nodded back. "I'm Wei Wuxian. I'm currently attending Lan University and I'm Lan Zhan's mate. We're engaged."

Ouyang Zizhen’s eyes widened in shock. _“Engaged!”_ he cried. He looked at Lan Zhan. “You can’t be engaged, you’re still what, thirteen!” He laughed. “Really, though, you’ve grown up so much, Lan Zhan. You got taller too! I didn’t know omegas could get that tall. You’re like my height now!”

 _Ah._ Lan Zhan remembered why Ouyang Zizhen frustrated him as a teen. He always treated him like a child. He understood now that he was an adult, but at the time it made him quite angry. “What do you do now?” he asked, more for curiosity’s sake than anything. He didn’t get to talk to alumni very often.

“When I’m not doing this, you mean? I’m an actor! I also do props for the plays I’m in. I’m a sucker for tragic romances. Making fake rain for the climax scenes is one of my favorites.” He looked at Wei Wuxian and asked, “What about you, then? What’s your specialty?”

"Conjuration," Wei Wuxian answered quickly. "But I'm more interested in using my magic for medical and scientific advancements."

"Wow!" Ouyang Zizhen exclaimed. "Conjuration's so cool, isn't it? It has so many different uses... I always knew I wanted to use mine for this, ever since I saw these light shows as a kid." He scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, I should get on to my next show. Thank you for the donation! You look beautiful, Lan Zhan. My wife was right when she said you would grow up to be a heartbreaker!"

Lan Zhan nodded. "I will tell Wang Laoshi of your success."

"Oh, thanks! It's been a while since I've written to my old professor... he's great. It was pleasant to see you again. And to meet you, Wei Wuxian," Ouyang Zizhen added to Wei Wuxian.

"Yes, you too," Wei Wuxian said, bowing towards him. He watched as Ouyang Zizhen scurried away and then turned to Lan Zhan. "I guess it's kind of cool to see someone who's doing something after their education finished."

Lan Zhan nodded. It made him wonder about what was going to happen after both of them were finished with school…

They spent the rest of the evening watching shows and eating snacks, and Lan Zhan eventually got his hands on a fried dessert. By the time they got to the inn, they were exhausted and ready for bed. Of course, they got an inn for a reason, and they spent the next few hours messing around and having sweet, loving sex.

Lan Zhan didn’t want to go to sleep, since it would only mean Wei Wuxian would be leaving sooner. He did his best to stay awake and keep Wei Wuxian awake too, but eventually his exhaustion took over without his permission and he was suddenly waking up in the morning. Lan Zhan held onto Wei Wuxian tightly and refused to let go until Jiang Wanyin was outside their door telling them to hurry up. He didn’t even know what time it was; it was probably late in the morning by now. He slowly sat up and felt miserable, but still started to get dressed.

"We'll be okay," Wei Wuxian said, pushing himself up to get dressed as well. "By winter break next year, we'll be married. We can do whatever we want, go wherever, be together."

Lan Zhan nodded. It would be fun, having Wei Wuxian with him during the winter. They could work together on the plants and potions and helping the people from the city. He kept that in mind while he got dressed, willing himself not to get upset. When they were both ready, Lan Zhan picked up the big bag he had brought with him from home and looked at it sadly. He turned his gaze to Wei Wuxian and walked over to him meekly.

"What are those?" Wei Wuxian asked, glancing down at the big bag. Was it for him? Lan Zhan had that look in his eye.

Lan Zhan held the bag out. "Sixteen stuffed animals," he said. "Some are small. Don't take them out at once, only take one every week. I scented them, so they should last if they stay together."

Wei Wuxian almost wanted to cry. Sixteen of Lan Zhan's stuffed animals, full of his scent, something to cuddle and croon at through the nights when he missed him. He took the bag and leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you," he mumbled against his lips.

Lan Zhan gave him another kiss, a long and slow one. "I will write you a letter tonight," he said. "I'll send it tomorrow morning."

"I can't wait," Wei Wuxian said with a smile. They had a taste of this when they were separated but now it would be even more intense.

Lan Zhan stared at him sadly for a moment, then pulled away so he could gather his things. Outside the inn, there was a carriage waiting. Lan Zhan pulled Wei Wuxian into a hug before he could get on it. He breathed in deeply, savoring his scent. "Until March," he said quietly.

"Until March," Wei Wuxian repeated. He gave one last long look at Lan Zhan before he climbed into the carriage with Jiang Wanyin. It was going to be a long winter.  
  



	49. Painting with Kiet Laoshi

After Wei Wuxian was out of sight, Lan Zhan sat on a bench for a little while and moped. He eventually pulled himself up to go back to his father’s store.

“You ready to go?” his father asked.

Lan Zhan nodded, but didn’t say anything.

Lan Qingheng noticed his sour mood and went to pat his shoulder. “I know it hurts,” he said quietly. “I know how it feels. But remember that he’s coming back. That’s better than what I had.”

Lan Qingheng rode with Lan Zhan back to the campus and walked with him into the residential area. His mother was sorting through papers on the dining room table, and she barely gave the two of them a glance. “Welcome back,” she said. “Some of the professors are getting ready to leave, so you can go help.”

Lan Zhan and his father shared a glance. “I’ll go find Xichen,” Lan Qingheng said. “You can go ahead.”

Lan Zhan went to the professors’ offices and walked through until he found Wang Laoshi. The professor looked up from where he was gathering his things. “Lan Zhan,” he said. “Come to help?” Lan Zhan nodded. Wang Laoshi went over to the corner where he had a stack of boxes. “It’s just these and a few other things,” he said, “I’ve already got everything else in the carriage.”

Lan Zhan picked up two of the boxes and waited outside for Wang Laoshi to join him. “I saw Ouyang Zizhen last night,” he said as they walked.

“Oh yeah?”

“He was doing a light show for the carnival.”

Wang Laoshi laughed. “I see. He was always good at that. He’s working at the theater, isn’t he?”

“Mm.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Wang Laoshi said, “So what’ll you be doing this winter? Same as always?”

“Mm. I am considering private lessons as well.”

“Oh that’ll be fun. I’m sure the professors will appreciate the extra income. It’ll keep you busy. Will Kiet be teaching you?”

“I will ask.” Lan Zhan nodded. Kiet Laoshi was the painting professor.

“I’m sure he’d be over the moon,” Wang Laoshi said. “He’s always so bored without me here. You should show him some cool plants, send your mate some nice paintings of them.”

Lan Zhan had never talked to Wang Laoshi about the things he’d been doing with his plants. Maybe Wei Wuxian told him about it. “I will,” he said.

“Speaking of your mate, I gave him plenty to do over the winter,” Wang Laoshi continued. “If he doesn’t write often enough he’s probably buried in the homework I assigned. Kid might graduate in another year if he keeps this up.”

“Mm.”

When they got to the carriage, Lan Zhan set the boxes inside. Wang Laoshi pat him on the back. “Thanks, Lan Zhan,” he said. “I’ll probably see you around sometime this winter. Take care of Kiet for me.” He ended that with a signature wink and headed back into the building.

After all of the departing professors had been helped, Lan Zhan hovered around the art studio. He wasn’t sure where Kiet Laoshi was at the moment and he didn’t want to interrupt anything…

Kiet was rather tall and lanky so it was hard to miss him when he was around, even without the addition of the large, round spectacles that sat on his nose. When he'd first arrived in Gusu after coming from far down south, he had told his class that calling him simply _Kiet_ was perfectly fine. There was no need for formalities but apparently the customs were different here. He'd become _Kiet Laoshi_ before he could do anything about it. He'd been carrying a new box of paints to occupy himself over the winter break while his class was busy doing other things when he saw Lan Zhan. He blinked quickly. Of course, he knew of Lan Zhan. How could one not know of the headmaster's nephew? He was the only omega boy in the university and also, according to Wang Laoshi, the mate of one of his most promising students.

"Hello," he said. "Can I help you?"

Lan Zhan straightened up and bowed politely. "Kiet Laoshi," he said. "I am here to ask if you would consider giving me private lessons in painting over the winter break. I did well in drawing class this semester and I would like to continue my education if possible."

"Private lessons, huh?" Kiet replied. It _would_ give him something to do over winter break. "Alright. Why don't you come in and show me where you're at if you have the time?" He kept on walking until he pushed open the door to the painting studio. The room was filled with plants on every surface, on the desk, on the windowsills, some were even in pots on the floor. Kiet set down the box of paints on the desk and turned to look at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan nodded and took in a deep breath. He'd been drawing still life since August, so this would be a breeze. He went to an easel and found a sheet of paper to pin to the board, then looked at the plant on the floor in front of him and started to sketch with barely visible lines, which he would gradually darken as the drawing became more accurate. He had seen in the painting studio before, but he never really thought about how Kiet Laoshi kept the plants in a climate like this... he must take good care of them.

"Your observation skills are good," Kiet said once Lan Zhan was almost done. He'd been quietly watching when he started. "You have a good starting point. But this is art and it is often more than just what you see. Have you worked with colour much?"

Lan Zhan shook his head. "I learned about values and shading," he said. "Dark to light but not colors."

Kiet picked up the plant that Lan Zhan had been drawing and placed it on the desk. It was a pot of vibrant, violet pansies. "Tell me," he said. "What colours do you see?"

Lan Zhan paused. He had some thoughts about the color as far as what was _inside_ the plant, but that was difficult to describe from the outside. So he just kept it simple. "Purple," he said. "Yellow in the middle. Black and white. Green."

Kiet grabbed a paintbrush and a selection of paints from the box. He put out the colours that Lan Zhan had said and then made a quick painting of the flower using the colours he said by walking over to one of the easels. "Here are the colours you saw," he said.

Lan Zhan watched intensely. He worked even without sketching first... it wasn't super detailed but it still managed to be a full painting anyway. He looked between the plant and the painting, comparing the colors between the two. "Can you make any colors?" he asked.

"As long as you have the right materials," Kiet replied. He finished up and looked at Lan Zhan. "So, if I were to add more detail to this, what do I need?"

Lan Zhan looked back at the plant. He thought about what he knew about petal color. What kind of details would need to be added to a painting? This was different than just drawing things. "There's different colors too," he said after a moment. "It is... shading, but color instead of value?" He wasn't sure how to explain it. He pointed at one of the petals. "The purple here is a different purple than the one here. It's more... it is closer to blue and the other is closer to red."

"Right!" Kiet said, looking pleased. He mixed together some other colours and started applying them to the canvas. "You have to look closer, see colours where they're not entirely obvious."

Lan Zhan watched curiously as he mixed the colors. He wanted to play around with that too... what kinds of colors could he make? Did changing plant colors work the same way? An idea started forming in his head. "May I bring a plant to our next lesson?" he asked. "I can get one that has many colors and shades."

Kiet nodded. "Of course. Junj-- Er, Wang Laoshi told me that you look after the plants in the greenhouse. You like flowers?"

Lan Zhan nodded. "My new specialty is life magic," he said. "I care for the plants that way. Recently I learned how to change the color of flowers."

"Oh! That is... That is very interesting. I would like to see it," Kiet replied. He swirled his paintbrush in the pot of water nearby to wash it.

Lan Zhan nodded. "I will bring some flowers next time to show you," he said. "When would you like to have our lessons?"

"How do Wednesday afternoons work for you?" Kiet suggested. "But I am... preoccupied in the evening so only for a few hours, okay?"

Lan Zhan nodded. "I will come here at one if that is okay," he said. "I will spend this week drawing and paying attention to colors as I do."

"That's a good idea. I look forward to teaching you, um, Lan Zhan, isn't it?" Kiet replied.

Lan Zhan nodded. "Thank you, Kiet Laoshi," he said with a bow. "I will tell my uncle of our arrangement and he will discuss payment with you."

"Just Kiet is fine, really," Kiet said. It'd never worked before but it was worth a try. "See you on Wednesday."

Lan Zhan paused awkwardly. It was inappropriate to call a professor like that, even for the headmaster's nephew. He only nodded and turned to gather the drawing he'd done before he left the studio. After dinner, Lan Zhan made his way up to the training room. His martial arts professor always left for the winter, and this would be the first time Lan Zhan did any exercise outside of those classes. He dressed down and went through the same exercises he would usually do for class, then afterwards he eyed the weights. He went and picked some of them up until he found one that was heavy enough. There were written instructions on how to use them so he read through them and did the exercises until his arms hurt. He rarely did exercises that focused on his arms, so it was a change from what he was used to. But there was nothing wrong with getting stronger.

That evening, he sat at his desk and started to craft a letter.

_My love,_

_My heart was heavy after you left. It took all of my strength not to run after you and spend the next four months in Yunmeng. I believe I will carry this weight until your return._

_Father returned to Gusu with me today. He has spent the day helping some of the professors move out and I think also working on the heating potions that we will need. The cold is already bad, and it will only become more brutal as the days go on. The homeless shelter has reached out and asked for a batch already. I believe Father wants to take Da-ge out to dinner tomorrow evening, but I don’t know if Da-ge will allow it._

_Wang Laoshi told me that he gave you enough homework to occupy you through the break. Tell me about it if you’d like. I want to read everything you have to say. I saw Kiet Laoshi, the painting professor today. He has a lot of plants in his studio, and next lesson I will bring one of my plants to paint. I think I will play with the colors of the petals before I do. I’ve included the sketch of the plant that I drew for him today. He painted a version of it after I finished. I am daunted by the possibilities of using color in my art._

_I visited the training room after dinner this evening. I have never used weights before but there were directions by them so I followed them. I will attempt to stay active this winter. I am sure that my martial arts instructor will be pleasantly surprised. Usually I lose some of my skill over the four month break._

_I still have the blankets you scented for me. I have them carefully stored away, and I will only remove them as the ones I have now fade, that way your scent will stay fresh. I might make some more plushies to replace the ones I gave you, to fill the spaces in my nest. Do not be surprised if we have many more children in there when you return._

_Tell me which plushie you use when you pull one from the bag each week._ _How are things in Yunmeng? Is there still tension between you and Jiang Wanyin?_

 _I will suffer as I sleep tonight. I will probably sleep in my nest, craving the comfort of your arms. Perhaps if I cover myself in my plushies I can mimic the feeling. I cannot believe that there was a time when I did not want such a luxury._ _I eagerly wait for your response._

_Snowball sends his regards._

_Lan Zhan_

The next day, Lan Zhan took the batch of heating potions his father had made to the city and used that opportunity to send his letter. It had been sealed magically using a custom wax seal that recognized Wei Wuxian, and only he could open it. He sent the letter using a company that hired talented conjuration and manipulation mages to transport things at unimaginable speeds. If he used regular mail, his letter would arrive in Yunmeng by next week; using this company, it would arrive on the next day, or two days ahead at the latest. It cost more to use, but he included a stamped coupon from the university that Wei Wuxian could use for his return letter to cover the cost.

He spent the next couple of days working in the greenhouse from morning to lunch, then helping his father with potions. In the evenings after exercising he sat with Snowball and practiced his drawing, trying to pay attention to colors. It was difficult in that room because the magic well cast a bright blue hue over the room, but it was still color. The firelight in the other room would do the same only in orange. He used the opportunity to study how the same plant would change colors drastically depending on what room it was in. He started to label his drawings with the colors he saw, and compare how the same drawing had different labels if it was done in the rabbit room with its blue light, his room lit by candlelight, or outside during the day.

He also worked on some of his flowers. He picked a relatively simple plant, an orchid. There were ten flowers on it, and he carefully manipulated the colors of each one. He had them going in the order of the rainbow, from red on one side to violet on the other. For each flower he had the center be a light, vibrant version of the color, and the edges he turned into a deep, darker version. So the blue flowers, for example, had a vibrant sky-blue that nearly hurt the eyes to look at for more than a minute, and the edges were a deep, royal blue that faded to navy. He sketched out many copies of the plant and labeled each sketch with the colors that he saw from different lighting. On Wednesday after lunch, he took his orchid and the sketches he’d made and waited outside the painting studio for Kiet Laoshi to arrive for their lesson.

"Right on time, I see," Kiet said as he approached. His eyes immediately lit up when he saw the orchid in Lan Zhan's hands and he ushered him into the painting studio. "Show me what you've got."

Lan Zhan set his orchid on a stand and put his sketches up on an easel. “I tried to create as many colors as I could in one plant,” he said. “I did some sketches and labeled them with the colors I saw. I tried to be as detailed as I could. There are three different sketches because the lighting in my room at night and my rabbit’s room, and the daylight all make the colors look different.” He much preferred the daylight one. The firelight made the green, blue and purple look muted, and the blue light pretty much took away the reds and oranges altogether. The painting room was extremely well-lit, with large windows and even a skylight, so during the day it would look fine.

Kiet looked over each sketch on the easel and hummed. "Interesting," he said. "These are good beginner sketches. We'll work more on your technique before anything else. Don't worry too much about being bold with your colours right now, we'll get to that," he turned to the orchid. "Now tell me about this. This is what you do with your magic?"

Lan Zhan nodded, eager to explain his magic. "Life magic is the internal manipulation of living things," he said. "My focus is on plants. I can use my magic to make them grow quickly and survive in weather in which they usually would die. It is why we can have fruits in our school meals. Earlier this year I learned that I can also manipulate the color of plants, since there is something inside them, especially the petals of flowers, that creates the color. The same way I can make a seed grow, I can make the color more intense or change its nature. I can make red into blue, or blue into red, but I cannot make any color into white. I believe that would involve removing whatever is inside, and I have not learned how to do that."

"That's fascinating," Kiet replied with a thoughtful hum. "And you can do this with any plants?"

Lan Zhan nodded hesitantly. "I have only tried it with flowers and fruits. It seems to be different in the leaves. I can make them more green, but not red or blue. Not yet."

"You mages really are something, huh?" Kiet said with a hint of fondness. "Can you show me?"

Lan Zhan nodded. "Would you like me to change my orchid or one of your plants?"

Kiet looked around the room and then went to retrieve the violet pansies from the other day. He set it down before Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan considered for a moment, then took the edge of one petal in his hands and sent a controlled amount of magic through. He changed it into red, and stopped before it could affect the white. He did this with a few of the flowers, scattering them so it looked like a checkerboard of violet and red. He looked at Kiet Laoshi.

Kiet was watching, entranced by the magic at work. "I've never seen such a thing," he said. He examined the petals once he was done. "This will be very useful for studying colours."

Lan Zhan nodded. "If you would like me to keep your plants alive this winter I can," he said. "It does not take too much time."

"I'd appreciate it. Feel free to let yourself in whenever. You can also use any of the materials in here to practice," Kiet said.

Lan Zhan's eyes brightened. He had wanted to play around with the colors some. "Will you show me how to mix paints?" he asked.

"Of course. Take a seat at any of the easels," Kiet said. He took the pansies and put them back in their rightful place and then got out the box of paints.

Lan Zhan sat down at the nearest easel and watched. He remembered the way Kiet Laoshi had mixed them a few days earlier, creating new colors from old ones. "I know some things from my plants," he said. "Such as making a blue flower more red will make it purple first."

"Mm, we'll start with your basics," Kiet said. He put down a red, blue, and yellow paint bottle in front of Lan Zhan. "Like you said, your red and blue will make purple. Your blue and yellow will make green. And your red and yellow will make orange. Have a go."

Lan Zhan took the palette and palette knife, then looked at the sketches he had in front of him. He ordered them so that the daylight one was at the top, then he looked at his orchid. He wanted to start with the red, blue, and yellow, then start mixing. There were only a few places where those pure colors were at, though. He would have to put white or black in them if he wanted to get the lightest and darkest part of each flower. Since he only had these three colors to work with, he put a small amount of each on the palette and took a paintbrush and used it in the way he'd seen others do. It was nerve-wracking, but he had to start somewhere. Once he'd put those three colors on the paper, he decided to make the purple. He took the palette knife and carefully put the two colors next to each other on a clean part of the palette, then smashed them together like he'd seen Kiet Laoshi do.

"Am I doing that correctly?" he asked.

"Yeah. Be careful not to press too hard or you'll end up with a mess," Kiet advised, watching Lan Zhan as he worked.

Lan Zhan looked between his paints and his orchid, continuously adding more red then blue, struggling to get it to the exact color that was on the petals. Eventually he figured it out and painted those on, then continued to the orange. Mixing colors was laborious, he discovered. He wouldn't say that, though.

"You're doing good," Kiet praised him. "Did they teach you about shapes in your drawing class? Much like that, you should try to see shapes in what you're painting, defined blocks of colour."

Lan Zhan nodded. He paused to look at the flower. He knew about turning the different shades into shapes of light or dark, but he supposed the same could be said about color.

His painting looked messy by the time he was done. He wasn't used to using a paintbrush, and even though he did his best to keep it clean, he wasn't perfect. He didn't even try to do the background, just doing the plant itself. He was highly unsatisfied with it, but he felt that way about his drawings for a while after he started too.

Kiet could see the distressed expression on Lan Zhan's face. "Don't fret too much. Nothing is perfect the first time around."

Lan Zhan nodded, dejected. "I will send this to Wei Wuxian," he said quietly. "I cannot bear to look at it myself." He took his paintbrush to the sink and started to rinse it out.

That made Kiet chuckle. "I'm sure he'll be proud of you regardless," he said. He pursed his lips in thought. "Wang Laoshi speaks fondly of Wei Wuxian, says he's doing well in his class."

Lan Zhan nodded, his eyes softening as he returned to get the palette to wash off as well. "He is very talented," he said. "He was the one who inspired me to expand my own magic."

"You speak of him very highly. He must mean a lot to you," Kiet said casually. It was always fun to see young love like this.

Lan Zhan nodded again, feeling a little sad. "We will be married in the summer," he said.

"Oh, is that so? Congratulations," Kiet replied. "I presume that he has gone back to his home for winter? You must miss him dearly."

"Mm." Lan Zhan looked at his painting for a moment, then took it down and started to roll it up. "I did not want him to leave," he said quietly. He didn't want to say that he was miserable, but he was sure it came across in his tone.

"I understand," Kiet said. "I'm sure he'll like the art you send him."

Lan Zhan knew he would too. Even if it looked terrible. "Thank you for the lesson today," he said with a bow before he went to retrieve his orchid.

Kiet nodded his head towards him. "I look forward to seeing you next week, Lan Zhan. Like I said, the door is open if you ever want to come to the studio to practice."

Lan Zhan nodded and left, making his way back to his room. The snow was up to his ankles, though his brother had cleared the paths that morning. The unused parts of the campus had mounds of snow much higher. Hopefully the snow would settle down and let his brother rest...   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, you guessed it, Wang Laoshi and Kiet Laoshi are boning


	50. Love Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian write letters to each other over the four month winter break.

When Lan Zhan got to his room he played with Snowball and fed him some vegetables and grew some of his grass back, then went to get the letter he had picked up earlier when he was in the city. Now that he was alone, he could read it. He dressed down to his inner robes and climbed into his nest, then opened it, his heart fluttering.

_My sweetheart, Lan Zhan,_

_I am glad to hear that you’re well. I can’t imagine how cold it must be in Gusu, it’s definitely a lot warmer here in Yunmeng haha! Still, Jiang Wanyin and I have acclimated to the cold in Gusu so we’re definitely doing a lot better than some of the others in Lotus Pier._

_Believe me when I say I miss you so much. I too find it hard to sleep at night, I miss holding you, kissing you, having you close where I can smell your sweet scent. I ache thinking of you._

_You wanted me to tell you what plushie I get out the bag each week, yes? Well, for my first choice, I decided to choose the little blue bunny. He’s got such a little grumpy face and it reminds me of you haha! It’ll never be the same but I’m so happy you scented them for me. I find it hard to put him down, even when I’m just sat at my desk doing some of my homework, but I don’t want the scent to fade too quickly._

_And yes. There is a lot of homework. A lot. I’m dying, Lan Zhan. If you don’t hear from me, know I’ve drowned in paperwork :( But it’ll be worth it. I feel like I’m on the edge of a breakthrough. I’m not sure how to explain it but I’ve attached a little diagram of how I think I can connect my nerves to the tentacles to create phantom sensations in my body. (Diagram)_

_Also, your drawing was beautiful! You’re so talented, you know? I love you soooooo much! I’m going to smother you in kisses when I get back, you just wait. I’m excited to see what else you make. I’m sure they’ll all be amazing and you’re only going to get better!_

_Jiang Wanyin and I are okay. He says hello, by the way. He saw me writing this letter. It’s always more tense in the house than it is when we’re at the University but we’re managing. Uncle Jiang has told us that we have a meeting soon but he hasn’t told us what it’s about. I’ll let you know what’s going on (if I’m allowed to) when I find out!_

_Missing you. I’m going to do filthy things to you when I next see you, hehe ;)_

_Love,_

_Wei Wuxian_

Lan Zhan couldn’t stop grinning. He set the paper down so he could hold his burning cheeks. He loved Wei Wuxian so much. Just these few days without him have been heartbreaking, but getting to read his words made him feel a little better. He could even smell him a little on the paper. He kissed it and held it to his cheek lovingly, not caring that he was being ridiculous. No one was watching him, anyway.

Wei Wuxian had taken an important trip shortly after sending his letter. One of the things that pained him most about leaving Lan Zhan was that he was due for his heat not too long after he’d left, only a couple weeks away. He wished he could spend it with him. Just thinking of him there, laying in his nest, writhing in his own sweat and tears, made him incredibly upset. He’d been sulking about it before he found his way to a special little shop.

Typically, he used his conjuration magic to make toys for Lan Zhan. To his knowledge, Lan Zhan didn’t own any. He’d gotten so used to having him there to satisfy him that surely his fingers wouldn’t be enough this time around… Wei Wuxian spent some time browsing before he picked out a red and black dildo that was somewhat similar in size to his own cock. He purchased it without shame or embarrassment and tucked it away in his bag.

He sent it wrapped with a little note: _For my sweetheart who I wish I could spend his heat with._

If his math was right, his gift should arrive around the beginning of his preheat. Wei Wuxian could only hope that it’d get there in time.

_November 10_

_My love,_

_My preheat has officially begun._

_I have a schedule now. Every day I rise at five and help make potions, then as the sun rises I spend some hours in the greenhouse reviving the plants enough to feed everyone. Da-ge helps so that it will go faster than usual. After that I go to the training room and go through my routine, then I board the carriage that holds the surplus food, heating potions, and enchanted materials. I give those to who has ordered them, and then what I do next depends on the day. On Wednesdays I attend my painting lesson after I return. After my heat is over, three days a week I will continue to the Gusu farm and give the children their lessons and return for the evening. The remaining three days, I will pick up Hudie from Song Hua. Mother has agreed to take care of her in the evening and morning while I am working, until I can bring her back to Song Hua. I might start bringing her to the greenhouse with me if she will tolerate it. Mother said that she could make a sling I could use to carry her and have both hands free._

_In the evenings I practice drawing among other things. I try to find time during the day to go to the painting studio and take care of Kiet Laoshi’s plants and practice painting. I am grateful to my mother for agreeing to take Hudie in the evenings, though I wonder if the child would dampen the unique frustrations that bloom from your absence. Last semester granted me a taste, and I am not sure which is worse. Knowing you were just a short ways away made it unbearable, but now that you are far, I am filled with despair. It has been two weeks since I last saw your face and felt your touch. The thought of fourteen more is torturous._

_This is bound to be the worst heat I will ever experience in my lifetime. I should have bought one of those toys we saw in the store. There was once a time when my own hand was enough to satisfy me. You have truly spoiled me, Wei Wuxian._

_Lan Zhan_

_PS: I am happy that I did not send this letter yet. I wrote it this morning but did not think to leave it out for Da-ge to take. I received your package with my dinner and just now opened it. I am ecstatic. It is your favorite colors, and shaped like you too. I have not yet used it, but I will sleep with it in my arms tonight for I am so happy to have an alpha who cares for me._

_My preheat has been miserable, but busy. I have replaced everything in my nest and laid out two of the sheets you scented, and placed my remaining plushies inside. It is a miracle that I was able to do this much between bouts of crying and keening…_

_Will you write to me every day this week? I know your rut is likely to arrive soon, but my despair is at its worst during this time. I would not complain if I received more gifts from you…_

_I promise I will not be so childish and needy after my heat has finished._

_Lan Zhan_

Wei Wuxian was quick to write back when he received the letter.

_My sweetheart, Lan Zhan,_

_You could not possibly be too needy for me. I will write to you as much as I can. I’m glad you liked the gift I sent you, please tell me how you use it ;)_

_If I were there, you know I’d look after you through your whole heat. Bring you food, water, give you massages and baths. Of course, all the other stuff too. I miss holding you dearly but I miss making love to you even more. You smell so sweet when you’re in heat._

_I want you to read this while you’re fucking yourself with that toy. How does it stretch you? I bet it’s better than your fingers. You miss my cock, don’t you? I miss that sweet pussy of yours too. I love eating you out, lapping up all that delicious slick, sticking my tongue inside you and watching you squirm. But being inside you is better. You always hug my cock so well, so tight and hot inside._

_I’d knot you so well, baby. So good. Split you open my thick cock until you’re full of my seed. I already miss hearing you moan, hearing you cry. I’d kiss you, bite you, nibble on your ear. Anything just to touch you. I miss you._

_I touch my cock and think of you some nights, imagine I’m fucking your sweet little pussy. Sometimes I even slip a finger in my ass, does that turn you on? You’ve really ruined me for anybody else. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go through my life without taking a bit of cock from time to time. Your cock is perfect for me after all._

_I’ve sent you an extra scented blanket and one of my shirts. I wish I could make your toy vibrate for you but I guess you’ll just have to be patient and wait for me to come back._

_How about you keep yourself stretched out with that toy, even after your heat, so I can fuck you so easily when I get back? It turns me on to think of you using it…_

_Can’t wait for your reply. I will send another letter tomorrow._

_Love you,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_My heat has started. I apologize for my lacking calligraphy. I finally used your gift. I have decided to name it Little Wei Wuxian. It fills me up very nicely. I could not help but cry when it first went in. I have been so deprived._

-

_I received your letter. Upon the first sentence of the third paragraph I took Little Wei Wuxian out and put it to use. Before my heat started I crafted a stand for it using a pillow, a metal ring and some ribbon. I can simply slide it into the ring from underneath and it will stand by itself. I did this and set your letter on the mattress to read. I used my hands to hold myself up, but eventually one of them went to other purposes._

_Little Wei Wuxian is much better than what my hand could provide, but I do indeed miss you. If I close my eyes, I can pretend that it is you. It offers mere seconds of comfort._

_Even thinking of your knot makes me want to cry. I never knew how sweet such a feeling could be. I crave that fullness in a way that I have never experienced before. Sometimes I wonder if I have gone mad, crying out for you as if you were simply in the other room ignoring me._

_Fighting madness with madness, I focus on my children. They miss their siblings, but I tell them many times that you are taking good care of them. They miss you as well. Comforting them helps distract me from my own despair._

_Being in heat, I can barely bring myself to think about dominating anyone. Perhaps if you were an omega I might manage it, but all I want is for you to claim me as yours, and to submit to my alpha... every time I bury myself in your blanket and your shirt I can only present myself and keen as if I were a wild animal with its mating call. Isn't that something?_

_I had to pause for another wave. I was worried for a moment that I would have to rewrite this because I was careless and got slick on the paper. But I doubt that you will be too upset about it._

_Lan Zhan_

As per his request, Wei Wuxian kept sending Lan Zhan letters every time he had a spare moment each day and his breath hitched when he received this last one back. Sure enough, Lan Zhan's handwriting was the poorest that Wei Wuxian had ever seen from him, and he hadn’t even written a greeting. It got bad when he was horny, who would've known? He noticed some smudged letters and ran his fingers over them only to notice the dried slick. Slowly, he brought the paper up to his face and inhaled it. Sweet, sweet slick.

He began writing a reply.

_My sweetheart, Lan Zhan,_

_You are doing so well for me. I'm hard just reading your letter. It seems that you and little Wei Wuxian have become quite well acquainted. That toy won't appreciate your tight little pussy half as much as I would._

_I hope you are taking care of yourself. Please remember to drink some water and take a bath sometime since I'm not there to remind you through your heat. It pains me to think of you suffering alone, crying in that way. I want to be there for my omega. I should be there to satisfy you._

_My rut will start in the next few days. You will definitely receive a hastily written letter from me then. You know what my hormones are like. Take care and tell me of all your adventures with little Wei Wuxian, okay?_

_Love you dearly,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_Wei Wuxian,_

_It is my third day of heat now. I am ever grateful to Da-ge for sending my letters and bringing yours to me._

_I forced myself to bathe after your last letter. I let the water sit for a while so it would cool, but I do not know if that was wise. I have kept a window free to let the freezing air in because I am overheated, and it feels nice for some moments. I have bouts of cold shivers and painful muscles like the last time, like I am suffering a fever. This will pass, like it always does._

_You will laugh when you read this. I was so desperate for your knot and Little Wei Wuxian was not enough, I resorted to using my hand again... all of it. I am amazed that it fit, but it was enough to give me temporary relief. I fooled my body into thinking I had received a knot and it calmed down for a little while. It frustrates me that it has the nerve to voluntarily cause such problems for me in a tantrum, only rectified by having my alpha's knot._

_Little Wei Wuxian has been perfect company. I usually keep it in even when I am finished using it for the time being. As I write this, I am still keeping it warm inside me._

_Are you in rut now? I wish I could care for you. We had so much fun last time. Just thinking about it is bringing on another wave._

_Lan Zhan_

_My sweet, absolutely filthy, Lan Zhan,_

_You really fit your whole hand in there? Fuck, I'll have to try putting my whole hand in you when I see you. If my knot can fit, I'm sure my hand can too... I know you said I'd laugh but it's actually pretty hot. I can just imagine your blissful face as you fuck yourself on your fist._

_I'm glad you're taking care of yourself and doing the things that I wish I could do for you. You are so dear to me, so special. I'm not in rut yet but I will be soon._

_Have you tried putting your fingers in alongside little Wei Wuxian? Clearly, you can stretch yourself for it. You never know, get some water and soap and maybe you'll find yourself enjoying a little finger in your ass while you're in heat. Then you'd be extra full._

_Thinking of you always!_

_Love you,_

_Wei Wuxian_

But it wasn't long after Wei Wuxian sent the letter that his rut did hit him in full force. It came on strong, given the proximity of the omega scent from the little teddy bear plushie that Lan Zhan had given him. Just like he said he would, he wrote him out another letter but it was scribbled, much like Lan Zhan's first letter.

_Omega,_

_I want to fuck you so bad. I've gone into rut now and all I can smell is your fucking scent on this teddy bear. It's so sweet and it's driving me crazy. I'm about to tear a hole in this bed with my cock._

_I've made something to help, a pretend pussy that feels similar to yours. I love fucking it. I wish I was fucking you. I'd pin you down and destroy your little wet pussy. I would fuck you until your eyes rolled back and you were too sore to stand. You'd take my knot like a good slut._

_I need you, Lan Zhan._

_Wei Wuxian_

Lan Zhan wasn't even embarrassed when he let out a debased moan as he read that last letter. He could hear Wei Wuxian's voice, rough and desperate, in his mind. He read it over and over while he fucked himself on his toy, then pulled over his board where he wrote his letters.

_Alpha,_

_I need you too. Send me something with your scent on it now, won't you? If you're still in rut when you get this? I will have Da-ge send this letter as soon as he comes back for dinner in a few hours. I'll even send you the outfit I'm wearing now. I'll fold it up tight into a little package for you. It's the small one I made for my last heat. It's disgusting and the bottom is all but soaked in slick but I am sure you will appreciate it in your rut. If you're already out of rut, then keep it wrapped until your rut in February so the scent stays._

_I want you badly. I can't help but cry with the weight of it. I want to spend every rut with you for the rest of your life. I want you to destroy me, knot me, claim me like I know you wish for. I'm thinking of when I would run away from you, when you chased me and pushed me to the ground. I have the perfect floor to be held down on. Hold my hair and push my head into it, make me struggle. My body is not weak but I can be weak for you. I want to be._

_Your Omega_

He put his letter in an envelope and sealed it like he always did, then stripped off the piece of fabric he could barely call a 'dress' and folded it into a little square. If he rubbed it between his legs to wipe up the slick, that was between him and Wei Wuxian. He took some paper and wrapped it in multiple sheets and then one of wax paper, then clambered out of his nest to find a little box to put it in. He secured it with multiple ribbons, then sealed it the same way he did with the letter so that no one could open it except for Wei Wuxian. He wrote a note to Lan Xichen and set it, the box and the letter with his lunch tray that he left outside. He would surely do any favor for his brother after this.

Wei Wuxian was of course delighted when the dress arrived on the last day of his rut. He made sure to lock himself away in his room and use the outfit as a sheath for his cock. Gods, it smelt so good. Lan Zhan’s heat scent was always going to drive him wild. He groaned as he came onto the fabric and let himself rest for a moment before he got to writing a letter in response.

_Omega,_

_Thank you for the outfit. You will be happy to know that I have used it to wrap around my cock. Your scent drives me crazy. I hadn’t cum so hard during this rut until you sent that._

_I’m a little more level-headed now. I hope you are taking care of yourself still. I wish I was there to fill that ache inside you, to pin you down and claim you, knot you, as you so desire. I miss you every day, every waking hour._

_You asked for something with my scent. I have sent with this letter my sheets. I need to put on a new set now that my rut is ending. I have touched myself on these sheets, they are covered in my rut scent. I hope this will please you. Take care of that sweet little pussy for me. Love you, Wei Wuxian_

_Wei Wuxian,_

_I have cried many times so it is not surprising that I cried when I received your gift. I am over the moon. I am wrapped in one of the sheets now, and I left the other one in the box so that it will last until my next heat. Thank you for this gift; I will cherish it. With this scent around me, I can start to believe that Little Wei Wuxian is really you if I close my eyes._

_Da-ge has been feeding me well. He left a scolding note when I put my half-eaten food back into the hallway yesterday evening. He said he would not send my letters if I did not eat everything he brought. He also puts snow in a pitcher for me, which I appreciate. I took a bath last night and used the snow to cool my forehead and make it more bearable._

_I have a few more days of my heat. Is it bad that I am looking forward to being busy? It has been torture to lay here and desire you. I want these four months to be over._

_Lan Zhan_

\--

_December 10_

_My love,_

_I read about the weather in Yunmeng from your letters and I envy. I usually move to the main building during the winter, but I have stayed in my room for Snowball's sake this time. The snow is fierce, and we have been officially snowed in since two days ago. I have never been in my room during such a time, and it is lonely._

_Da-ge braves the snowstorms once a day to bring me plenty of food and snacks, and news from the rest of the campus. He uses a heating spell and a thick rope that leads from my building to the main building so he does not get lost. If you are unsure how someone could get lost between these two places, imagine being surrounded in snow so fierce that you can barely see your hand stretched out in front of you. There are no footprints, for the snow fills up any as soon as they are made. Da-ge uses a special seat he created out of a broom that has a cushioned seat and handlebars, and he uses his manipulation magic to lift it into the air and ride it to wherever he wishes. That was how he went to the city multiple times per day to send my letters and receive yours, and now it is how he floats above the snow on the ground that has now reached the third floor. He leaves the window on the fourth floor of the main building and comes straight across to my room, holding onto the rope to guide him. He is very brave._

_He says that the snowstorm is too bad to go to the city and send my letters or receive yours, but that he will as soon as it dies down. We don't know when that will be._

_We have worked hard to send more than enough heating potions and enchanted materials to the towns and city until now. They have a stockpile now, and hopefully there will not be too many deaths this winter. Still, I am restless and I ache to go there and help people who might be freezing to death. It feels cruel to sit in my magically heated building while someone out there is dying. But I couldn't make it there if I wanted to, otherwise I would send this letter right now._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 11_

_Wei Wuxian,_

_It is boring here. I spend my time painting. I have included all of the paintings I have done so far. You can see for yourself how the campus looks now, almost completely buried in snow. I also included paintings and drawings of Snowball, and a self-portrait of me in my new little outfit. Do you like the royal blue? I think it contrasts nicely with the white._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 12_

_My fiancé,_

_They have almost run out of food in the main building because the order they put in for non-perishable food was not filled before the storm. I am using my pots and Snowball’s room to grow food. Da-ge helped me for about an hour this morning and it was fruitful, but I have nothing else to do so I am still working on it, albeit slower without help. Everyone must survive on fruits and vegetables now, since our dried meat storage has depleted. Da-ge says that everyone is grateful for my help._

_I miss you._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 13_

_My love,_

_I have started to work on your wedding robes. It was a welcome break from using my magic, which is almost depleted from overuse. I have also started to design robes for myself as well._

_I slept in Snowball’s room last night. I put some blankets on the grass and curled up with him. I am glad that there are no bugs in that room._

_I am craving bread like a man starved. I love fruits as much as I did before, and I eat many of them as well as the vegetables, but it has been a week since I last had a warm slice of bread with butter. I think when it is possible I will ask Da-ge to bring me a fresh loaf of bread and some butter from the city. I would not mind a pastry either._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 17_

_My love,_

_I apologize for not writing for a few days. I have been exhausted from using my magic this much, and I have spent most of my time sleeping. I feel as though I do not have much to say. Even painting has been difficult to manage._

_The snow is almost to my window. This is one of the worst snowstorms I have experienced in my lifetime. I do not know when it will end. I could probably step out of my window and walk across the snow to the fourth floor of the main building if I hold onto the rope. Where does this snow come from? Why is there so much of it? Will it stop coming? Will the whole building be encased?_

_Even if the building is encased, Da-ge will still come. He has tools he can use to push snow to the sides as he moves._

_I love you, Wei Wuxian, I hope you are doing well. I also hope that you are not too worried for me. I am okay._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 18_

_My darling alpha,_

_I’ve included sketches of your wedding robes. You cannot see mine until the wedding day, though._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 20_

_My love,_

_I miss you. I know you have written to me since I last received a letter from you, but it is waiting for me in the city. As soon as I can read them, I will have all of mine sent to you. I hope it makes up for my absence._

_The snow is seeming to slow down, miraculously. There is about five inches of snow above the bottom of my window, and each time I take the barrier off to let Da-ge in, some of it falls inside. I actually like it, because it is absurdly easy to get cold water now. Do you know that I love cold water, my love? I am used to drinking warm or room-temperature water most of the time. Now I can scoop a glass full of snow from outside my window and pour hot water in it to melt it and then I will have water cold enough to make me shiver. It is delightful._

_Father has been making heating potions every day, apparently. He has crates full of them waiting to be taken to the city as soon as Da-ge can go. I have also been filling boxes with fruits and vegetables that can be sent to the city._

_I want to hear from you. I want to know what is happening in Yunmeng. Didn’t you say that there was going to be a meeting? Tell Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli that I send my regards._

_Lan Zhan_

_December 23_

_Wei Wuxian,_

_The snow has stopped. The sky is clear, and I believe Da-ge is going to rush to the city soon. I am waiting by the window now. I have all of my letters packed and the drawings and paintings too for him to take. I hope that the snow doesn’t return at least until he has returned. I can’t wait to read what you have written me._

_I love you so much. I spend much of my time thinking about you and dreaming of our wedding. I cannot take this separation for much longer._

_I see Da-ge now._

_Lan Zhan_

Needless to say, Wei Wuxian had been concerned when Lan Zhan’s letters stopped coming. Had something happened to him? He couldn’t help but worry. Even so, all he could do was keep writing letters and hope that they got to him.

_My sweetheart, Lan Zhan,_

_I hope you are well. When nothing came for me a few days ago, I was worried, but I thought I’d leave it a few more days. Nothing has been sent still. If you could send me anything to let me know that you’re okay, I would appreciate it._

_I am thinking of you always and I miss you._

_Love,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_My sweetheart,_

_Still no word. It is boring to wake up and see nothing from you. I hope you’re okay. I have heard from people in the city that the weather is bad in Gusu, I’m assuming that’s why I haven’t received any letters. I hope it isn’t too troublesome._

_At the very least, I hope that these letters can still reach you. I want you to know that I love you very much, you are so dear to me. What ever would I do without my little Lan Zhan? I ache to kiss you, hold you, at every given moment._

_Please take care of yourself. I am thinking of you._

_Love,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_My dearest Lan Zhan,_

_The meeting is tomorrow. Uncle Jiang told me that it’s with Wen Ruohan and his son, Wen Chao. I’m not sure what they want from us but Auntie Yu seems to think that it’ll be a good opportunity to bolster our business alliances with them. I’m not so convinced. Those Wens have been nothing but bad news and they have some very… traditional opinions about omegas, as we both know._

_I’m worried. I’ll let you know how it goes after the meeting. I wish you were here with me, I wish I could curl up in bed with you. I’ve taken out the little cat plushie, the red one. He is giving me some semblance of comfort in these trying times. I hope you are well. Please write to me as soon as you are able._

_I love you with all my heart,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_Lan Zhan,_

_Things aren’t good. I ended up arguing with Wen Ruohan and Wen Chao over the dinner table and Auntie Yu has scolded me, sending me to my room like a child. I don’t want to be here anymore, I wish I could come back to Gusu, no matter the weather._

_I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you this but I think that it’s important that you know. The Wens are wanting to subjugate omegas. Of course, this comes as no surprise, but they tried to pay us off to let them build a facility here in Lotus Pier where they could round up all our omegas and ‘take care of them’. I fear that they want to arrange marriages, make breeding programs… All things that would force omegas into submission, reinstate traditional values._

_I think they thought it would appeal to us, given that Jiang Wanyin and I are alphas, but clearly they were mistaken. Wen Chao even tried to suggest that he would find me a suitable submissive wife and when I said I already had an omega I was courting, he told me that there would be no problem if I wanted to have a little fun with an omega in the facility if I so wanted to. I have never been more disgusted. I feel sick just writing this._

_Uncle Jiang and Auntie Yu turned them down but I was still punished for speaking out against them but I couldn’t help it. I was just so angry, Lan Zhan. How dare they?_

_Please be on guard. I love you and if something happened to you while I was here, I’d never forgive myself._

_Missing you,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_My sweetheart, Lan Zhan,_

_I don’t know what to do. Even after that meeting, what they said won’t leave my mind. How can people be so vile? So disgusting? Please tell me you’re safe. I just want to know that you’re okay. I’m worried about what they’re going to do to the omegas here and if they don’t get their way, I worry about what they might do to Gusu, to you. We know that they have always hated the University…_

_I love you, Lan Zhan. I love you with every fibre of my being. I can’t wait for us to get married, for our wedding, for us to start a new life together somewhere once I’m done with my studies. I’ve been distracting myself by working extra hard but the worry still consumes me._

_I miss you. I can’t wait to come back._

_Love you,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_December 23_

_Wei Wuxian,_

_I just read your letters. I am sorry for worrying you. I am okay, if only bored._

_I also got a letter from Wen Chao. It was not addressed in any identifying way, otherwise I do not think Da-ge would have given it to me. I have copied the important part below._

_”We have heard of your accomplishments in life magic and are extremely interested in it, especially the ability to regrow missing limbs. I would be most pleased to compensate you generously for copies of your research, and to discuss it with you in person. I know that we have not always seen eye to eye, but this is purely a respectful request.”_

_I do not know how to respond yet. I will have Da-ge take me to the main building so I can discuss it with my family. Needless to say, I will not give him copies of my research. If anything, it will be useless since my area of life magic is plant and not animal flesh. I am reluctant to be disrespectful to the Wens, however, especially after reading what you have told me. If there is any way I can be granted an exception for my skills, perhaps I should consider that as a last resort measure, in case of an emergency. I will start studying animal life magic now. It would take years before I can properly use it, but perhaps even just knowledge of it could help me._

_In better news, Da-ge brought me two loaves of bread and some butter, and a bag of pastries. I have eaten half of a loaf in the past hour. I have used much of our honey and dessert sauce store too._

_I love you. I am eager to hear your thoughts on my new outfit. I have embroidered some things on it since I sent you that self-portrait. Is it revealing enough for you?_

_Lan Zhan_

_My sweetheart, the love of my life, Lan Zhan,_

_You have no idea how happy I am to receive all your letters. I am so glad that you’re okay, it brings me much calm to know that you’re safe and well. I’ve enjoyed reading through your letters but I am worried about Wen Chao’s letter. Do not trust him, he does not have good intentions._

_I love the wedding outfit you have designed for me. I’m so excited for us to get married! It’s going to be a beautiful ceremony but I mostly just can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so, so much, Lan Zhan._

_But on a more saucy note, I do also very much like the self-portrait you sent ;) You look very sexy, I could just eat you up. Gods, I can’t wait to eat you out when I see you. I’m going to bury my head between your thighs and live there. I want to drown in your slick, baby._

_Missing you. Please stay safe,_

_Wei Wuxian_

_December 24_

_My fiancé,_

_The snow hasn’t come back yet. I went back to the main building and have been helping with the heating potions. It is very strange to walk on snow as tall as it is. Da-ge took me to the city today on his ‘flying horse’ so that I could visit Song Hua and Hudie. They are doing well, since they live with a wealthy family now. He spent all day picking up snow with his large piece of metal and dumping it somewhere else, like a giant spoon. He dug out people’s homes and I handed out heating potions and food. The manipulation professor also came and brought Father, and Wang Laoshi and Kiet Laoshi came too and together we got through everyone in the surrounding towns and the city after twelve hours of working quickly. The citizens here are accustomed to being snowed-in, and the only person we found that had died was an elderly man who had lived alone. Tomorrow Da-ge will take me to the Gusu farm so we can check on them. Many places had already been dug out, such as the mail house and some of the downtown houses and shops, and people were using big shovels to do it. Gusu citizens are very hardy people._

_I am tired. It has been a long day._

_Lan Zhan_

\----------

_January 15_

_My love,_

_I cannot believe it has been three months. Only another month and a half to go. I cannot wait for March to come._

_When you get here, do not bother going to the alpha dorms. I have received Uncle’s permission to let you move in with me this semester._ _I am considering whether to go back to classes this semester._

_I would like to take agriculture and construction. I dream of one day moving away and building ourselves a home and a farm… but I have other things to focus on as well. I might take agriculture and leave the rest of my day free to be in the greenhouse and then in the library to study life magic._

_Animal life magic is fascinating and daunting. It is strange to think about altering a human body the way I think about altering a plant. It is good that I am skilled in healing already, and I have elevated knowledge of the human body._

_I miss you._

_Lan Zhan_

_My sweetheart, Lan Zhan,_

_I’m so happy to hear that your Uncle is letting me move in with you! You can’t see but know I was doing a happy dance in my room haha! I can’t wait to see you again, it’s not much longer now, we’ll surely get through this. Knowing that I will get to come back from all my classes to be with you without sneaking around makes me unbelievably elated._

_I’m sure you’ll excel at everything you do. I think it might be good for you to explore what else your life magic can do, you’re destined for great things – I just know it! Be sure to come back and tell me all about it._

_Since I’ve agreed to take one thing at a time, I think I’ll join you this semester in agriculture. It was nice taking home management together so I’d like us to have a class together again._

_Missing you always. I love you._

_Wei Wuxian_


	51. Together Again

And sure enough, the days came and went. Wei Wuxian was practically bouncing around when he got in the carriage with Jiang Wanyin to go back to Gusu. Obviously, it was a long trip, but he knew that when it was over, he would get to be with Lan Zhan again. He could hardly wait, he’d be just as beautiful as he remembered, he just knew it.

When they finally arrived after an arduous week of travelling, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin split ways – Jiang Wanyin was going to the alpha dorms and Wei Wuxian was not. He got the key for the omega dorms and headed up. As tempted as he was to burst in and shower Lan Zhan in kisses, he thought he’d like to surprise him. He focused his magical energy, eager to show Lan Zhan how much he’d improved, and created a little black bunny. He opened Lan Zhan’s door marginally, just to let the bunny hop inside, and hid behind the wall. The bunny quickly hopped towards Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan was by the window, watching for his mate. He had unknowingly missed him when he took a quick trip to the restroom. He didn’t notice the rabbit until he felt something fluffy at his feet.

“Snowball?” he asked, looking down. He jumped in surprise; that was _not_ Snowball.

He stared. This was a young rabbit… was Wei Wuxian here? Did he buy him a rabbit? He picked up the bunny and immediately noticed something wrong. Usually when he touched something that was alive, he could passively feel its energy. It was from his proficiency in healing and life magic together that made him naturally aware of life forms in his hands. But he didn’t feel anything at all here.

This rabbit wasn’t alive.

Or rather… it didn’t exist. The thought scared the shit out of him for a few seconds, thinking perhaps he was looking at some kind of zombie or ghost rabbit. But then common sense returned to him and he realized that his fiancé was a conjuration mage. Of course this wasn’t alive. He held the bunny in his arms and walked toward the door.

“Wei Wuxian?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian stifled a chuckle. He kept quiet for the moment and the bunny shuffled in Lan Zhan's arms and then moved to start humping against his sleeve.

When Lan Zhan realized what was happening, he scoffed loudly. He picked the fake rabbit up under its arms and held it at arms’ length. “Wei Wuxian,” he scolded. “Don’t beat around the bush. Come over here and do this to me yourself.”

Wei Wuxian couldn't hold his laughter any more. He turned the corner and walked in the room, letting the bunny dissipate and he scooped Lan Zhan up into his arms, cuddling him tight.

Lan Zhan smiled, wrapping his arms around Wei Wuxian’s neck with a quiet giggle. He felt so _giddy_ , he didn’t even get upset that Wei Wuxian still had his boots on. But he feigned annoyance anyway. “If you are going to move in you have to learn to leave your boots at the door,” he scolded.

"As if you wouldn't have complained had I taken the time to take my boots off rather than come after you right away," Wei Wuxian said. He smiled and put Lan Zhan down to take his boots off before wrapping him up in his arms again.

Perhaps he was right. Lan Zhan leaned in to get a deep breath of Wei Wuxian’s scent, then moved his head up to kiss him. He couldn’t even try to keep it slow, not with how excited he was. He kissed him over and over, already dipping his tongue inside.

Wei Wuxian was eager to kiss him back. He kissed him with equal amounts of passion, cupping his cheeks to draw him in closer. They kissed until they were breathless, until they really needed to part. "I missed you," Wei Wuxian breathed. "I missed you so much."

“Show me how much you missed me,” Lan Zhan breathed back, his heart racing. “Your rabbit had the right idea.”

Wei Wuxian laughed a little and left all of his things on the floor to pick Lan Zhan up properly. He carried him over to the bed and dropped him on there. "I love you," he said before he climbing on top of him and kissing him again.

Lan Zhan was impatient. He untied his pants and shucked them off, quickly followed by his underwear. He was still fully dressed from the waist up and didn’t think anything of it. He opened his mouth and let Wei Wuxian in, his hands climbing up to feel his thick arms.

As Wei Wuxian's own hands roved over Lan Zhan's body, he could definitely feel the difference. Lan Zhan _had_ been working out like he said he had. When he pulled away from the kiss, Wei Wuxian kissed a path down Lan Zhan's neck and then shuffled down to sit between his legs. Gods, he'd missed this. He wasted no more time and lifted Lan Zhan up by his hips so he could lick broadly over that tempting entrance.

Lan Zhan threw his head back and moaned, opening his legs as wide as he could. He reached down to grasp Wei Wuxian’s hair. He could already feel the wetness between his legs.

Wei Wuxian moaned against Lan Zhan's pussy. He tasted so good - he'd dreamt of doing this so many times in the time they'd been apart. He rubbed at Lan Zhan's thighs as he kept licking, then eased his tongue inside.

Lan Zhan shivered. He tugged at Wei Wuxian's hair and tried to pull him even further in. "Fingers," he said breathlessly.

"Okay baby," he mumbled. He eased two of his fingers inside him, delighting in how wet he was already. "Have you been using little Wei Wuxian like I asked you to?"

Lan Zhan nodded quickly. "Every day," he said, squirming around a bit. "It goes in easier now."

"Good. I'll go in nice and easy," Wei Wuxian replied. He kissed his inner thigh and pushed his fingers in all the way to the knuckle and then began thrusting them in and out.

Lan Zhan squirmed some more and small noises escaped him. After a moment he tugged at Wei Wuxian's hair. "Come sit up," he said. "I want to kiss you."

Wei Wuxian chuckled and shuffled to sit back up. He leaned down to kiss him and kept moving his fingers as he did.

Lan Zhan took hold of Wei Wuxian and shoved him down on the bed next to him. He climbed on top of him and leaned down to kiss him fiercely, tugging on his lip with his teeth. "I need you," he whimpered against his lips.

Seeing Lan Zhan so needy like this was driving him crazy and he was sure that Lan Zhan could smell it in his scent. Wei Wuxian nodded and quickly pulled his fingers out so he could take his cock out. "Take what you need," he said.

Lan Zhan sat up and spread his knees more. He looked down and took hold of Wei Wuxian's cock -- so _warm_ \-- and positioned himself, then slowly eased himself down on it. The stretch was amazing, even if it burned a little. He sighed heavily, relieved to finally have this again. Resting his hands on Wei Wuxian's chest, he started to move.

Wei Wuxian let out a long groan when Lan Zhan sat down on him. He put his hands on his hips and helped him along. This was perfect. "Oh, that's good, mmm... I've waited so long for this," he breathed.

It really hadn’t taken long for Lan Zhan to be in this position after seeing Wei Wuxian again. The thought amused him. He went a little faster, keeping a moderate pace now. It felt so _good_ to have Wei Wuxian inside him again. “Better than that fake one you made?” he asked.

"Of course," Wei Wuxian replied. He ran his hands up and down Lan Zhan's sides. "Nothing could ever be better than the real thing. It's the same with me and Little Wei Wuxian, huh?"

Lan Zhan hummed in agreement. “Make me one of those,” he said suddenly. He was curious about how it felt...

Wei Wuxian cocked his head to one side and then focused his magical energy to make a toy similar to the one he had used during the winter break. He handed it to Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan slowed to a stop and took it, his eyes bright with curiosity. It was so weird looking... He hesitantly stuck his finger inside, and the texture was very similar to when he fingered himself. He glanced down at his cock, then at Wei Wuxian, at a loss. Did he just... push it over it?

Wei Wuxian let out a little laugh and took it back from him. He held Lan Zhan's cock by the base and then eased the toy over it. "Like this," he said. "Warm inside, isn't it?"

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath. His hips had jerked forward, but they couldn't move as much since he was fully seated on Wei Wuxian. He braced himself on Wei Wuxian's chest again and started moving again, trying to alternate between thrusting into the toy and fucking himself on Wei Wuxian's cock. It _was_ warm. And tight, and wet... Lan Zhan's breath stuttered when an orgasm hit him by surprise. He shivered and his eyes fluttered shut.

Wei Wuxian watched, fascinated. A few seconds after Lan Zhan came, he started to move the toy over his cock.

The overstimulation made Lan Zhan shiver and a choked noise left him. He hadn’t done this to himself in a long time, not since his heat at least and there was no such thing as overstimulation then. He was getting hot. He stripped off his belt and the layers he wore, until he got to the inner robe which he left open. He realized that he looked different than he had when Wei Wuxian left — a combination of not eating a lot and working out every day gave his abdomen a more defined look. He personally wasn’t such a fan of it, since omegas were supposed to be skinny and soft.

Wei Wuxian roved his eyes over his toned stomach and felt a pang of arousal hit him. His hand that was on Lan Zhan's hip moved up to caress these firm ridges and he licked his lips. "You've worked out a lot, huh?" he said.

Lan Zhan felt the urge to cover up, but he reminded himself that that was a look of _desire,_ not judgement. “Do you like it?” he asked anyway.

"I do. I like it a lot. Mmm... I love that I can bend you over and fuck you senseless but you can also manhandle me," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan started moving again, having recovered from his orgasm by now. “We should fight later,” he breathed. He hadn’t practiced his martial arts since the fall, but that was fine. He didn’t forget that easily.

"I'd like that," Wei Wuxian breathed. He rocked his hips up into Lan Zhan, holding him tightly and moving the toy over his cock still.

Lan Zhan threw his head back in enjoyment. He loved how Wei Wuxian fucked into him even when he was on the bottom. Like this, it only took another minute or two before he came again, groaning quietly.

Wei Wuxian found himself quickly reaching his peak as well. He kept fucking Lan Zhan through his orgasm and then let out a shaky moan of his own. "I'm going to knot you," he rasped.

Lan Zhan planted himself on Wei Wuxian's cock, sitting down all the way and only moving in small bounces. "Do it," he said breathlessly.

Wei Wuxian grabbed both of his hips and pulled him down as close to the base of his cock as he could before he came with a gasp, moaning Lan Zhan's name as he spilt hot into him. His knot filled steadily, spreading him wide.

Lan Zhan bit his lip against a contented smile, spreading his legs a little as the knot opened him up. It hurt a little bit, but he was much too excited to care. He had missed this feeling so much. He was going to get to have it for the rest of his life, now. He lowered himself down to his elbows and kissed Wei Wuxian's lips, then lay down on top of him, purring quietly.

The sound of Lan Zhan's purr had Wei Wuxian crooning back at him. He rubbed his back as his knot continued to inflate to its max capacity and then he settled. "I love you," he mumbled.

"Missed you," Lan Zhan murmured back, his voice rumbling. He ran his hand up and down Wei Wuxian's arm. "How was your trip?"

"Long but l knew that with every passing second I was closer to being with you. Nothing is more important to me than that," Wei Wuxian replied. "How have you been the past week?"

"The same," Lan Zhan said. He was quiet for a moment, then he said, "Should I take agriculture or construction this semester? I think we should take different ones, so we can have more skills between us. You need to take child rearing eventually."

"It would've been nice to be in the same class but now we live together... You take agriculture, it's more in line with your magic. I'll take construction. Also, since when have you been so eager to have me learn about raising children, huh?" Wei Wuxian said and winked.

Lan Zhan huffed. "I told you that you'd be the one raising them," he said. "How big of a load do you have this semester? Did Wang Laoshi give you a lot?"

"You suddenly seem eager for me to learn," Wei Wuxian replied. He pinched Lan Zhan's side mischievously. "And I'm hoping this semester will be easier for me. I made a lot of progress over the winter break."

Lan Zhan hummed. "You should take construction and child rearing if you can," he said. "Then we will have all of our skills covered. I know how to sew and cook."

"Then I suppose we'll have to work on starting a family after we marry huh?" Wei Wuxian continued to tease him. He chuckled and pulled Lan Zhan in for a kiss.

Lan Zhan kissed him back, then said, "Give me ten years." That was a long time to wait. Thirty was late to have children as far as their society was concerned, but he just didn't want to have to worry about that anytime soon.

"I'll wait for the rest of my life for you," Wei Wuxian whispered back. He smiled up at him fondly.

Lan Zhan lay back down and got comfortable again. He was so cozy and warm in his alpha’s embrace, it didn’t take too long for him to slowly drift to sleep.

Wei Wuxian debated whether or not he wanted to do this, given that Lan Zhan seemed to be tired, but he figured it couldn't hurt. He focused his magical energy and let some of his tentacles wriggle out. They wrapped around Lan Zhan's body carefully.

Lan Zhan was only dozing, so he was easily woken up by the sensation. He saw the tentacles and hummed happily, taking one in his hand. He popped it in his mouth like he always did before, taking enjoyment from how it felt to suck on it. He had missed the little things dearly.

Wei Wuxian let out a startling moan when Lan Zhan put the tentacle in his mouth. Of course, everything he'd practiced to make sure that he could in fact, connect sensations from the tentacle to his own body, had been tested on Jiang Wanyin (much to his displeasure). This meant that he hadn't actually tested the _sexual_ aspect of the magic. But oh Gods, did it work.

"It works Lan Zhan," he breathed. "It works."

Lan Zhan jumped slightly when he heard Wei Wuxian moan and the tentacle fell out of his mouth in his surprise. _Oh._ He had forgotten about this. He sat up a little, propping himself up on his forearms to look at Wei Wuxian curiously. “What did that feel like?” he asked.

"Like you had your mouth around my cock," Wei Wuxian said fondly. He licked his lips. "You could probably make me cum again while I'm still inside you."

_That_ was tempting. Lan Zhan looked back at the tentacle he’d abandoned and picked it back up, his eyes full of wonder. Making eye contact with Wei Wuxian, he slid it back into his mouth and started to suck.

Wei Wuxian leaned his head back as he breathed out another moan. Fuck, it did feel good. He reached up to run his fingers through Lan Zhan's hair, his cock pulsing inside him.

Lan Zhan started purring happily, letting the vibrations come up to his mouth. He closed his eyes and sucked as the tentacle squirmed in his mouth. He liked this a _lot._ He wasn’t even touching Wei Wuxian, but he was already making him into a mess.

As long as Lan Zhan kept doing this, Wei Wuxian couldn't see any reason to ever ask him to suck his cock again (aside from the pretty sight.) "Gods, you feel good," he rasped. He let the tentacle wiggle deeper into his mouth.

Lan Zhan was lenient with the tentacles, it seemed. He let it go further back, only stopping it when it got to the back of his throat. Tears pricked at his eyes as he tried not to gag.

"You're so pretty," Wei Wuxian whispered, eyes fixed on where the tentacle disappeared into his mouth. A hand came down to stroke Lan Zhan's cheek, his thumb wiping away some of the spit over his bottom lip.

Lan Zhan pressed his tongue up, squishing the tentacle against the top of his mouth. He pulled it out slowly, sucking on it the whole time, then looked at it fondly as it squirmed in his hand. It was incredibly arousing to think that this was the equivalent of holding Wei Wuxian’s cock. He leaned forward and rubbed his lips over it lovingly.

Wei Wuxian let out a little whimper and his cock pulsed again. "I won't last much longer like this," he told him.

Lan Zhan opened his mouth and drew his tongue up the length of it, purring with happy amusement as it immediately slipped back into his mouth like it was seeking refuge there. He closed his lips around it and sucked hard enough that his cheeks burned, watching Wei Wuxian’s face closely.

And it was true, Wei Wuxian didn't last much longer. As soon as Lan Zhan started sucking hard, he came with a moan, spilling hot into him and filling him with even more cum, enough that it was starting to spill out around the knot.

Lan Zhan shivered a little, his eyes widening. He would definitely have to start doing this at least every other day. He let the tentacle fall out of his mouth. “I like that,” he said, his voice low.

"More orgasms for me," Wei Wuxian replied with a breathy laugh.

Lan Zhan took the tentacle back in his hands and started to play with it. “I missed them,” he said. “I think they missed me too.”

"Of course they did, because I missed you," Wei Wuxian replied. The tentacle wriggled out of Lan Zhan's grip and booped him on the nose.

Having the tentacle so close to his mouth again was dangerous. Lan Zhan opened his mouth and tilted it up, but paused before snatching the tentacle. He eyed Wei Wuxian; would it hurt if he were to suck on it right then?

Wei Wuxian shook his head and let the tentacle dissipate. He let out a deep breath. "There's plenty of time for us to experiment with that," he said.

Lan Zhan tried not to pout. He would have to get used to this new thing, but it was probably worth it. “You need to come try on your wedding robes so I can make sure they fit,” he said, shifting around a bit on the knot.

"Okay well, let my knot settle first," Wei Wuxian said. He cupped Lan Zhan's cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss.

Lan Zhan allowed it and kissed him back for a moment before setting down again and waiting for the knot to go down. Once it did, he could already feel the cum sliding out of him. He pulled himself off and got up, walking over to his sink so he could wet a washcloth and wipe up the cum and slick that had gotten everywhere. It had even gone down to his knees... he wrinkled his nose and returned to Wei Wuxian to wipe him off too.

"I really came a lot in you, huh?" Wei Wuxian said with a note of smugness. He grinned at him.

Lan Zhan blushed. He didn’t know why he was blushing; it wasn’t like he hadn’t had sex with Wei Wuxian a hundred times at least. “You’re ridiculous,” he said quietly, wiping off Wei Wuxian’s cock and then tugging his underwear back up. He pulled off his pants and folded them, since he would be undressing soon to put on the robes.

Wei Wuxian sat up in the bed and stretched. "You love it," he cooed. "Get those outfits then, I'm excited."

“Just yours,” Lan Zhan reminded him. “You will see mine on our wedding day.”

Ignoring Wei Wuxian’s pout, he put on his underwear and pants, then tied his inner robe back around his body before he went over to where he had Wei Wuxian’s robes hanging. They were protected by a cloth covering that he pulled off. Lan Zhan took it to his desk and carefully took apart the layers until he got to the inner robes. They were completely black, and only the top would show above the collar. He handed them to Wei Wuxian so he could put them on.

Lan Zhan made him sit still so he could check each piece closely, tugging on it and seeing how it fit. He had him lift his arms and sit down, and it seemed to fit just fine. Next was the middle later. It was a vibrant red, the same color that he had used to make his own wedding robes. The sleeves were wider this time, hanging down about eight inches from his wrists that were tightly wrapped with the black inner sleeve. He tied the belt and the sash around his waist, taking note of the fit. Last was the outer robe, which was a dark gray that faded into black at the top. He had the fabric for this dyed specially to fit the idea he had drawn out. The sleeves were deep and the edges had the red flame design Wei Wuxian had mentioned. He let this later hang loose, not tied around him in any way.

He steered Wei Wuxian toward a mirror. “Do you like it?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian stared back at himself through the mirror and admired how the clothes sat on his body. He smiled and did a spin. They sure felt nice on his skin. "I love it, Lan Zhan," he said. He turned to look at him. "But more importantly, do you like how it looks on your future husband?"

Lan Zhan nodded, reaching up to take Wei Wuxian’s hair and pulling some of it forward to lay over his chest. “You look beautiful,” he said.

"I can't wait to marry you," Wei Wuxian replied. He slid his hands over Lan Zhan's hips and pulled him closer to him.

Lan Zhan hummed and tilted his head up to kiss him. He couldn't wait either.


	52. Qiqi

Classes started the next day. Lan Zhan went to his agriculture class excitedly. The first part of the semester was going to be about growing crops, which of course was something he was interested in. He was the only omega in the class, but when some poor soul snorted and asked what he was doing there, at least two others informed him that Lan Zhan was in fact the reason they ate fresh produce throughout the year. Lan Zhan didn't even have to look that way.

After class, he went to the library and settled down with his life magic books and started studying for a few hours, after which he went to lunch and then to the greenhouse with Su Ming to work on the plants. Every time he opened his life magic books, he couldn't help but think about Wen Chao. Why did he want Lan Zhan's research? He had already sent a respectful letter back, stating that he would otherwise gladly do business with him but that his research was not applicable to the situation. He never got a response.

Wei Wuxian's classes had finished early that day, with only one morning class to get him back into the swing of things, so he took a trip outside of campus. He'd told Lan Zhan that he was going to get him a bunny that _he_ paid for and he intended to make good on that. He'd already found someone who'd just had a litter, the babies now old enough to be sold. Wei Wuxian picked out a small, black bunny. He was an affectionate little fella and reminded Wei Wuxian faintly of himself. There was no more hesitation - he paid for the bunny and took him home, happily feeding him as he sat in the back of the carriage. Once they arrived back to Gusu in the evening, Wei Wuxian placed the little bunny back in the box he'd been given and walked back up to his and Lan Zhan's room.

Lan Zhan had been worried when he couldn't find Wei Wuxian earlier. His mother had asked him to invite him to the family dinner, but he had gone alone, saying he couldn't find him. He had been deliberating going out and looking for him again when Wei Wuxian walked into their room.

He jumped up. "I was looking for you--" He trailed off and looked at the box curiously. Was that why he was gone? What was it? He walked over.

"Sorry. I know I should've told you but I was too excited, I wanted it to be a surprise," Wei Wuxian said. He held the box out towards Lan Zhan and said box _shuffled._ "This is for you."

Lan Zhan's eyes widened. He took the box and he could feel that there was something alive in it.

 _Is it the bunny?_ he thought. He took it and sat down on the bed and opened it, and gasped softly when he saw the baby. It was black, and so tiny. He picked it up with both hands and cradled it close to his body.

"A baby," he whispered.

Wei Wuxian sat down next to Lan Zhan on the bed and crooned, nuzzling against Lan Zhan and looking down at the bunny in his hands. "Yeah. I told you I'd buy you one, didn't I?" he said.

Lan Zhan couldn't help but croon as well. He pet the little bunny's head as it tried to climb up his chest to sniff him. "Did you get it from the Shi farm?" he asked curiously.

"That would've been a bit far for me to go, wouldn't you think?" Wei Wuxian said with a little laugh. "No, there was a more local breeder. Her bunnies had just had a litter."

So they weren't related. Lan Zhan hummed and slowly bent down to kiss the baby as it seemed to be calm enough. "Very well mannered," he said.

How should he introduce the baby to Snowball? He knew the older rabbit was used to being with other rabbits, and had been for his entire life, so he shouldn't have any problems adjusting to the newcomer. But he wanted to make sure. He stood up and walked to the door. "Can you go get Snowball?" he asked. "Let's take them downstairs to the third floor."

"Sure," Wei Wuxian said. He climbed over to collect Snowball who was happy to be scooped up in his arms.

Lan Zhan sat down on the floor in the common room. It was a massive space, big enough for them to explore as far or as close as they wanted. He kept the baby safely in his hands. "You can set him down," he said. "Let's let them see each other first."

Wei Wuxian set Snowball down on the floor and pet him. "I hope they'll get along," he said.

Lan Zhan watched as Snowball ignored the baby, just hopping around and sniffing his new, unfamiliar environment. He chatted with Wei Wuxian quietly for a while as they watched the rabbits meet.

Eventually Snowball came to sniff at the baby, and Lan Zhan at first held the baby just out of reach, so only their noses could touch. The baby was surprisingly calm and curious. After a long enough time, he decided to set the baby down and see what happened. Snowball sniffed all the way around the baby, then turned and hopped over to Wei Wuxian to receive pets. Lan Zhan considered that a success.

"I'll keep them separated until baby is older," he said. "We can put them together while we are here to watch."

"That'd be wise," Wei Wuxian replied with a smile. He liked seeing the two bunnies interact, if only briefly. "What are you going to call him?"

Lan Zhan hummed. What would be a good name for a little black bunny? "Qiqi," he said after a moment. "Remember the bunny plushie you made me last year?"

Wei Wuxian smiled wide and nodded. "Yeah. I remember. That's cute."

Lan Zhan stood up and took Qiqi back up the stairs and set him in one of the little side rooms that was filled with grass while Wei Wuxian brought Snowball back. He had to use one of the discarded doors to block the little room from the big room, but he would work on building a proper wall the next day when his brother could help.

"Stay in here until I call you," he told Wei Wuxian. "I have something for you."

"Okay," Wei Wuxian called back.

Lan Zhan went back to his room and to his chest where he stored his risqué outfits. He had already shown off the ones he had made over winter break the day before, but this wasn't a new one, just... an addition to one.

He pulled out the white piece he had made the semester before, the one that was scandalously short and had long sleeves and was embroidered with a rabbit. He got his silk stockings, leaving the lace ones behind. He wanted to be comfortable this time. He took them to the bath area and changed into it. Once the dress and underwear were on, he got out the garter belt. He had made something to attach, a little ball made of a thousand silk strings. Or at least that's how many it _felt_ like when he was making it. It gave the illusion of being a big, soft furball. When he pulled it on, the ball sat just above his backside; it was a bunny tail!

He attached the silk stockings to the garter straps and then got out his headband. He had made two long bunny ears to attach to the top. He couldn't get them to stand up like real bunny ears, so he just let them flop down on either side of his head. He turned to look at himself. The tail made the skirt ride up and show most of his ass, but he knew that was a plus.

He went over to his bed and kneeled on it, then spread his legs and sat between his calves. He adjusted the little skirt and his bunny ears, and pulled some of his hair to sit in the front. Once he was perfectly posed, he called out, "You can come back in."

Wei Wuxian walked inside and his eyes widened when he saw. His gaze roved over all of his body but he focused in on the bunny ears. "Oh," he breathed. Gods, he was so cute. Did he know just how cute he was? How was this _legal?_ "I see you got me a bunny too."

Lan Zhan ran one of the ears through his fingers. "Bring up a chair," he said, pointing to a spot in front of the bed.

Wei Wuxian knew he would find it hard to sit still but he grabbed a chair and pulled it in front of the bed anyway. He sat down and looked at Lan Zhan expectantly.

"Stay," Lan Zhan told him, holding his hand out to make his point clear. Then he slowly turned around to show off his tail. He looked over his shoulder, unable to resist catching his reaction.

"Oh Gods," Wei Wuxian breathed. He wanted to reach out to touch his ass, to pull on that little tail...

Lan Zhan spread his legs apart so Wei Wuxian could see his garter straps from behind. He quite liked showing them off. "How will you take care of this bunny then?" he asked.

Wei Wuxian reached out and grabbed Lan Zhan's hips and pulled him onto his lap. He kissed the back of his neck and ran his hands over Lan Zhan's thighs. "You're such a sexy little bunny," he said.

Lan Zhan allowed himself to be taken away; for now, at least. He tilted his head back, then turned a little so he could lean in like he was going to kiss him. But instead of doing so, hopped away and climbed back on the bed. "No touch," he said, his eyes playful.

"Put on a show for me then," Wei Wuxian replied with a pout. He supposed he could sit here to watch if he did something exciting...

Lan Zhan turned around to face him then stretched, arching his body in a shameless way. "What would you like me to do?" he asked.

"Dance for me? Touch yourself?" Wei Wuxian suggested. He smirked and sat back in the chair. "I want to see that little tail of yours move."

Lan Zhan hummed.

He had danced before with Su Ming, back when they were teenagers. They would hide in his room and learn the most shameless of dance moves just because they could. The kind of dances done by pretty omegas in places where alphas went to be 'entertained.' He could do that again, right? If anyone deserved it, it was Wei Wuxian.

He slid off the bed and walked around in circles for a moment while he tried to remember. He had to pretend that Wei Wuxian wasn't there, else he would get shy. He was a teenager, hiding in his room with Su Ming. He stared at a spot on the wall and started to sway his hips, his mind fully on bringing up that muscle memory. He knew a lot of it was hip movements, but there was more with the arms. He danced around in a half circle to face away from Wei Wuxian and started to move his hips in circles, then little patterns that apparently would match with some kind of music.

He doubted this was very sexy. He felt silly and if he thought about it for too long he would stop and hide his face. But he pushed those thoughts away aggressively.

And honestly, it didn’t matter how silly it was. Wei Wuxian watched his every movement with fascination. How could one not be aroused by this? The way he moved his hips was so sensual, he could feel his cock harden in his pants already. It didn't help that every time he spun around, he got a glimpse of that cute, perky ass. "You're so beautiful," he said.

Lan Zhan thought that maybe some alcohol would help him do this better. He didn't have any, though (not that it was even allowed on campus). He danced around until he got bored of that and collapsed back on the bed. "I'm done," he said. "What else do you want to see?"

"Show me what you'd like me to do to you," Wei Wuxian said. It was a bold request and he wasn't sure if Lan Zhan would agree but it was worth a try.

It was also a broad topic. Lan Zhan considered it. What _did_ he want Wei Wuxian to do to him? "Right now I want you to stay where you are and watch me," he said, pulling himself up to sit properly on the bed. "Maybe get off from watching me. Maybe... use other methods to touch me, if you can't resist."

Wei Wuxian nodded. He got himself even more comfortable where he sat, ready to take his cock out when things heated up.

Lan Zhan considered for a moment, then he reached over and took out the box he had in his bedside drawer. He set it down and then ignored it, turning back to face Wei Wuxian. He stared at him for a few seconds, taking in the feeling of being _seen,_ before he unbuckled his garter straps.

Despite just saying that he wanted to be watched, and despite truly wanting that, he was feeling more shy than usual, probably because he just danced around like a fool. He knew his ears were red and he could only hope that the bunny ears covered that up. He suddenly couldn't make eye contact anymore now that he was thinking about it, and he looked down bashfully and pushed his panties off. He focused on buckling the garter straps back to his stockings.

Wei Wuxian watched with rapt attention as Lan Zhan slid the panties down his legs. He licked his lips.

Lan Zhan ran his hands up his thighs and glanced at Wei Wuxian, but then looked down again. He loosely wrapped his hand around his cock and started to stroke it lazily. After a minute of this, he moved his hand between his legs and slipped his middle finger inside himself. He curled it in and rubbed at his sweet spot, encouraging his body to open up.

"Do you see what you do to me, Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian asked. He rubbed his hand over the front of his pants as his cock hardened under the fabric.

Lan Zhan glanced up again under his lashes and ran his bottom lip through his teeth. He slid in another finger alongside the first and continued until he had opened up some more, then he added his index finger. It stretched him open somewhat uncomfortably, but he didn't keep them in long.

Once he was sufficiently wet, he pulled his fingers out and reached for his box. He first took out his little contraption made of a metal ring and some ribbon, then he pulled over a pillow and strapped it on securely. Then he took Little Wei Wuxian from the box and slid it under the ring and through it so it could stand up by itself. He straddled the pillow and then positioned himself over the toy, then slowly lowered himself down until he could sit comfortably before he started going.

Seeing Lan Zhan use the toy that he'd bought for him was incredibly arousing. Wei Wuxian pulled his cock out of the confines of his pants and started to stroke it at a similar pace to how Lan Zhan was bouncing on the toy.

Lan Zhan moved like that for a little while, bouncing up and down and stroking himself. But after a few minutes he started to slow down, feeling the need to tease. Bracing himself on the bed with one hand, he closed his eyes and started moving his hips in slow ovals, pushing into his hand each time they came forward.

“Talk to me,” he said quietly.

"Mm, you've always loved my filthy mouth, haven't you?" Wei Wuxian said. He squeezed the head of his cock. "I wish you could see yourself right now, all dressed up. Is this how you touched yourself when I was in Yunmeng? I'm sure you ached for me the whole time, especially through your heat."

"I was more desperate then," Lan Zhan said. He was taking his time, making sure to savor each slow drag of aching pleasure. "What if I said you couldn't touch me tonight?"

"I'm surprised you'd want to go back to that after not spending so much time with me, all that time pleasuring yourself with that toy and _wishing_ it was me," Wei Wuxian replied.

Lan Zhan started moving his hips in arcs from side to side, going down each time he came to the middle. “You know I like you to watch me,” he said.

"And I like watching you," Wei Wuxian said. He stroked his dick a little quicker and roved his eyes over Lan Zhan's body.

Lan Zhan took that as it was. He sat up and kept moving the way he was, not wanting to go too fast. He wanted to savor this. He reached up and took one of his bunny ears and put it in his mouth so he could suck on it, enjoying the tactile sensation. His left hand stayed wrapped around his cock, his thumb rubbing circles over the head.

Wei Wuxian needed to slow himself down before he came too quickly. He took a deep breath, still unwilling to draw his eyes away from everything that was going on in front of him, but stroked his cock at a more leisurely pace.

Lan Zhan continued like this for a long time, content to relax and enjoy himself. He liked how the heat built gradually, making his body tingle with need as his thighs burned from the workout. Eventually he cracked open an eye and said, "Don't you want to see more?"

"I'd rather you come sit on my cock," Wei Wuxian said in a husky voice. He squirmed a little on the seat.

Lan Zhan pouted. He wanted something kinkier than that, but he wanted Wei Wuxian to do it without him asking. But taking Wei Wuxian's cock also sounded nice. "Bring out your tentacles and I'll come over there," he said.

That, Wei Wuxian could do. He focused his energy like always and summoned a few tentacles. They wriggled out towards Lan Zhan and started wrapping around his skin, nuzzling up to him. Wei Wuxian let out a delighted hum at the sensations.

Lan Zhan purred for a few seconds when they nuzzled against him. He sat up on his knees, his breath hitching when the toy slid out of him. He was about to get off the bed and go over to Wei Wuxian but he paused. "Can you feel it from all of them at once?" he asked curiously.

"The biggest one has the most feeling," Wei Wuxian explained. He had the largest tentacle rub against Lan Zhan for emphasis. "The others feel but it's not as strong. In theory I could... fill all of your holes and feel it."

Lan Zhan bit his lip and eyed him. "Do you want me to come over there still?" he asked.

"Yes. Nothing beats the real thing darling," Wei Wuxian cooed. He wrapped the tentacles around Lan Zhan's arms and had them start pulling him towards him.

Lan Zhan let them pull him, sliding off the bed and going to straddle Wei Wuxian. He lifted his legs up to hang over the sides of the chair and wrapped his arms around his neck. “The tentacles can have the rest.”

"Even your ass?" Wei Wuxian asked with a cocked eyebrow. He put his hands on Lan Zhan's hips and started to help him lower down onto his cock.

Lan Zhan loved being picked up like that, even if it was only briefly. He sighed happily as he was filled up again. “Not the big one,” he said. “But the smaller one can.”

Wei Wuxian's eyes brightened and he nodded. He leaned in to kiss Lan Zhan's neck as the smaller tentacle caressed his ass lightly before rubbing up against the little hole between his cheeks. It wiggled away inside carefully and Wei Wuxian let out a soft moan.

Lan Zhan sucked in a breath. It felt incredibly weird, but not bad. It was a lot better than last time, since the tentacle was so squishy and flexible. He took the big tentacle in his hands and stroked it gently like he was petting a rabbit.

"Put it in your mouth baby," Wei Wuxian whispered to him. The tentacle in his hand wriggled around and rubbed against his cheek.

Lan Zhan wouldn’t say no to that. He opened his mouth and let it go inside, wrapping his lips around it. He looked at Wei Wuxian and started to suck lightly.

Wei Wuxian was glad that Lan Zhan was so close, he buried his face against his shoulder and moaned loudly.

Lan Zhan squeezed around Wei Wuxian’s cock and the tentacle in his ass. He leaned forward a bit so he could muzzle against Wei Wuxian’s cheek and kept suckling. He felt so full and comfortable...

"Can I start moving you?" Wei Wuxian asked, his hands squeezing Lan Zhan's hips. He wasn't sure how long he'd last.

“Yes,” Lan Zhan said, taking the tentacle out. He wiggled a bit in Wei Wuxian’s lap and tightened his arms around him.

Sure enough, Wei Wuxian did not last very long. He grabbed Lan Zhan tighter and started bouncing him on his cock. Wei Wuxian writhed and moaned and barely got five thrusts in before he came with a gasp and a cry.

Lan Zhan had stuck the tentacle back in his mouth and kept sucking as the knot filled him up. He wasn’t going to stop until Wei Wuxian made him. The knot pressed against his sweet spot, making him shiver violently.

Wei Wuxian shivered as Lan Zhan kept sucking. It felt like he kept pumping out more and more cum.

With his free hand, Lan Zhan reached down and pumped his cock until he also came. His mouth went slack around the tentacle and embarrassingly, some drool slid down his chin and the tentacle itself.

Wei Wuxian groaned and glanced up at Lan Zhan. The tentacle wriggled out of Lan Zhan's asshole and out of his mouth, then dissipated.

Lan Zhan wiped his chin with the back of his hand. "I liked that," he said softly. "You should do that every day."

"I've never cum so fast in my life... It's... almost overwhelming actually," Wei Wuxian said. He took a deep breath.

Lan Zhan hummed. "If only you were an omega... I could make you cum ten times in five minutes."

"Don't make me want things I can't have," Wei Wuxian said. He hummed thoughtfully. "I'd like to be an omega, just for a day, just so you could fuck me."

Lan Zhan's lips quirked up. "I can fuck you the way you are," he whispered, closing the distance to kiss him.

Wei Wuxian cupped his cheeks and slipped his tongue in his willing mouth. They kissed passionately until they were breathless and Wei Wuxian met Lan Zhan's gaze. "I love that about you," he said.

Lan Zhan smiled a little and pressed his forehead against his. “And you too,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a lot of sweet, fluffy, and sexy wangxian chapters. I'm sure y'all are getting bored. But not to worry! I have just the fix. Stay tuned. 😉


	53. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a break away from wangxian for a chapter.

The semester went by a lot more joyfully than the previous one. Lan Zhan learned a lot about agriculture and raising farm animals and growing crops. He also learned a lot about animal life magic, and how much more complicated it was than plant life magic. There wasn’t a way to make animals age the same way he could make plants grow. He could create flesh from bits and pieces, though. He experimented by taking insects and using his magic on them.

He didn’t think he would be able to handle anything more than that, since he wasn’t at the stage where he could work on dead animals. They had to be alive for his magic to work, and he just couldn’t torture most animals like that. Insects were the most he could stomach. He knew that he would have to one day, though, if he truly wanted to go into animal life magic. It wasn’t for the weak-hearted.

He kept busy, going through the greenhouse and his class and his studying, then helping his mother with her healing classes and going to his martial arts classes. He also saw Kiet Laoshi every now and then to show him the paintings he had been doing. On the weekends he took Hudie, who was now about a year old. He was making progress with teaching her how to speak. She knew the words for water, hungry, gege, and bunny. She was also learning how to walk, emboldened by the soft padding of Lan Zhan’s floor.

His heat was also much better than his previous two. It was in May, about a month before the summer break. When June came along, Lan Zhan was more than ready for the wedding. He had finished their robes and packed them safely into bags to be taken to Yunmeng. He went to the Shi farm and invited the family to come with them, and Wei Fang said he would come a bit later, with the rest of the Lan family. Shi Taibai said yes, much to Lan Zhan’s excitement. He had done his best puppy dog look to convince him, and sure enough, the eldest son couldn’t resist him. Lan Zhan hoped he and Jiang Shisong would get along.

Meanwhile, things hadn’t been quite so pleasant in the Jiang household. The Wens had sent multiple letters to the Jiang family, probing them to reconsider their stance on the building of the facility. They had been getting more and more aggressive in tone.

“Maybe we should just do it,” Yu Ziyuan had said as she burnt another letter.

“My lady,” Jiang Fengmian said, exasperated. “They would put _you_ in that facility, you know.”

Yu Ziyuan frowned and watched the paper burn. “Besides the fact that I am a married woman, they would not get far if they forced me to do anything.”

Jiang Fengmian let out a long sigh. He shook his head and walked over to pick up his bags. He was heading over to Gusu to speak with Lan Qingheng, Lan Zhan’s father. It was only right that they discuss the specifics of the wedding as the fathers of the two getting married. Yu Ziyuan would be left to take care of Lotus Pier in his absence. “Alright, well, the carriage is waiting for me outside. We will return by the wedding,” he said.

Yu Ziyuan shooed him. “Go on, go.”

Jiang Fengmian shot her a sympathetic look before he strolled out of the estate and got in the carriage.

It was a long journey to Gusu, to the capital, but he’d endured much longer journeys in the past. That didn’t mean he wasn’t relieved when he arrived outside Lan Qingheng’s shop. He let himself in and looked around.

Lan Qingheng looked up, but stopped before he greeted the new customer. There was no mistaking the uniform. “You must be Jiang Fengmian,” he said, stepping out from behind the counter. He approached and bowed politely. “I am Lan Qingheng. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Jiang Fengmian bowed back to him. "A pleasure to meet you as well. Is there somewhere that we can perhaps talk? If you're not too busy."

"Of course," Lan Qingheng said. "Let us return to my home. It is not far."

He went to tell his assistant to run the shop for the rest of the day, then led Jiang Fengmian out. Once they got to his house, he left Jiang Fengmian in the sitting room and briefly left to prepare tea. "I apologize for the unorthodoxy of this," he said as he came in and settled down on the cushions at the table, then poured them both a cup. "My son is quite untraditional when it comes to the matter of marriage, apparently. We would usually have already met by now, but the wedding is only days away." He gave Jiang Fengmian a cheeky smile. "Not that my marriage was much better."

Jiang Fengmian chuckled lightly and took the tea with a brief thank you. "I understand," he said. "At the very least, I am happy that A-Xian is marrying for love. My own was a... ah, of the arranged sort."

Lan Qingheng raised his brows. "That is surprising," he said. "I would assume someone as wealthy and beautiful as yourself would have a hundred brides for the choosing. Though I suppose arrangement is a common practice for most families."

That surprised Jiang Fengmian. He blinked and turned his head to one side, smiling bashfully. "Ah, it's not quite so glamourous I'm afraid. The one woman I wanted, I could not have," he said.

That was familiar. Lan Qingheng knew he should get on with talking about the wedding, but there was no harm in a bit of conversation. He felt like oversharing, probably because Jiang Fengmian had shared such personal information with him already. He focused on drinking his tea for a moment, then he said, "We are similar then. But I am sure your situation was more glamorous than mine. I had the woman I loved, then I threw that away with my own foolishness. She has barely looked at me since the divorce ten years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jiang Fengmian said. He took a long sip of his tea as well. "Your life is not over though, you know, but I understand if you don't feel you could take another lover if you still love her."

Lan Qingheng shook his head. "I have moved on," he said. "It was difficult for a few years, but I have found that women are not the only ones who can satisfy my needs. It was freeing, in a way. It gave me time to mature. I have started to attempt to heal the relationships with my family that I ruined back then. It has not been completely fruitful, as you will see when you meet them."

Jiang Fengmian nodded. "Lan Zhan is a talented young man. I see that A-Xian has taken a real shine to him by the way that he talks about him."

Lan Qingheng nodded as well. "It warms my heart," he said. "I was afraid that something terrible would happen when I first saw them together. A- Zhan was reckless and cruel, telling me that he did not love Wei Wuxian. It reminded me of my ex-wife. But apparently all it took was that man leaving for A- Zhan to snap out of it and admit his feelings. The next time I saw them and they said they were to be wed, it gave me whiplash. A- Zhan is clearly infatuated with him. He moped all through the winter without him."

"A-Xian has never given us the details... First thing we heard about any of this was that he brought Lan Zhan home with him and declared he was going to marry him," Jiang Fengmian replied.

Lan Qingheng nodded. "I am aware," he said. "Anyways, I should continue with business."

He told Jiang Fengmian about what the Lan family had planned. He took out a list of items that were to be delivered to Lotus Pier as Lan Zhan's dowry, including new outfits, trinkets and baby clothes, along with other things that would aid the new couple with raising children.

"I understand that they will remain in Yunmeng for the summer break and return to Gusu for the fall semester," he said. "However I am unsure of where their residence will be outside of Wei Wuxian's education. It is customary for the bride to move in with the groom's household; are we to assume they will live at Lotus Pier?"

"That's a fair presumption. I would imagine that Lan Zhan will return to Lotus Pier with Wei Wuxian whenever they are not in classes. That includes the four month winter break. I believe A-Xian would like to travel when he's done with his studies and I suppose Lan Zhan will accompany him," Jiang Fengmian explained.

"I'm sure he will enjoy that," Lan Qingheng said. "My brother and ex-wife will of course be reluctant to let A- Zhan leave, but they knew what was involved with raising an omega. I'm sure they will come back to visit often enough." He sighed. "If you are pleased with the dowry and other things I've mentioned, is there anything else we should discuss about the wedding?"

"Are you alright with it being held in Lotus Pier? I mean, I know it is late to ask now but... I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with everything," Jiang Fengmian said.

"Of course," Lan Qingheng said. "Yunmeng is a beautiful place. A- Zhan seemed excited about it. I'm sure it does not matter where they are married, as long as they can fulfill their wishes." He finished his cup of tea and said, "Even if our own weddings were not ideal, it is nice to let our children have that happiness, isn't it?"

Jiang Fengmian smiled and nodded. "Yes. I can only hope for the best for my children and I'm glad things have turned out the way they have. A-Xian always had some charm to him, he'd always flirt with the girls at the market, but he's never been interested in any of them which surprised me. Even so, the last thing I expected was for him to come home with an omega after we sent him to Gusu University for _study._ But I can't say I'm not happy for him."

"He is a good alpha," Lan Qingheng said. "He had a few rude words with me while I met him, but I respect him for it. It makes me trust that he will not make the same mistakes that I did."

"I hope he didn't cause too much trouble. He has got quite the mouth on him, believe me I know," Jiang Fengmian sad. He chuckled.

Lan Qingheng smiled. He watched Jiang Fengmian for a moment, considering. He really was a beautiful man, very quiet for an alpha. It prodded at Lan Qingheng's need to provide and nurture. He dampened it with a wet towel in his head. Jiang Fengmian was a wealthy man just like him, not like the less well-off but still pretty men he spent his time with sometimes. Not to mention he was married. But... "Pardon me for a potentially intrusive question, you are free to not answer, but... you say you never married the woman you loved. Do you and your wife have a good relationship after all these years?"

Jiang Fengmian was taken aback by the question. He set the teacup down and folded his hands in his lap. "Ah, well... I wouldn't say our relationship is... great. You see, A-Xian is... the woman I loved, she had a son. That was Wei Wuxian. But she and her mate were killed when he was young so I took him in like one of my own," he said. He didn't know why he was opening so much, he supposed it had been a while since he had someone to talk to. "My wife has always resented that, says I treat him better than our son, but I know she's just saying it to spite me."

Lan Qingheng nodded, furrowing his brows. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "It must be difficult to have lived that way for so long. Does she know of your past feelings?"

"She does," Jiang Fengmian said. "I think that's why she's so annoyed about it. She's said some... cruel things about it."

Lan Qingheng shook his head. "Perhaps I am in no place to speak, but no one should be forced into a life like that. I realized this after marrying my ex-wife. She never loved me like I loved her. She has seemed happier since the divorce." He looked around the room, then back at Jiang Fengmian. "I've said this already, but a man like you could have nearly anyone you could choose. What keeps you from pursuing that?"

"It is comfortable like this. I don't want to make things stressful, or any more stressful than they are. It wouldn't be good for the estate or anything," Jiang Fengmian replied, shaking his head.

Lan Qingheng hummed. He could probably... Could he? There weren’t that many consequences for himself that he could think of. It wasn’t like his own family had high opinions of him anyway. “I can’t say I understand, but I respect your dedication to keeping what peace there is. However... should you decide to explore other options, I would be happy to show you what it is like to be appreciated.”

Jiang Fengmian wasn't sure what to say, his cheeks a little pink. No one had ever so brazenly flirted with him like that. _Especially_ not an alpha. He was surprised to find that he didn't hate it either. "Ah... um, I am very flattered. We will perhaps talk another time if anything changes," Jiang Fengmian said.

That was a much better reaction than Lan Qingheng should have hoped for. He nodded and smiled. “Well then,” he said. “Will you be staying in the Capitol until my family comes? They should be arriving in a couple of days. I would be happy to host you here, but I know of some nice inns if you’d rather that.”

"I brought some bags with me with some things, I would appreciate it if I could stay... but I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality... A break away from home would be appreciated," Jiang Fengmian replied.

“I’d be happy to,” Lan Qingheng repeated. “It gets lonely in here sometimes. It will be nice to have company.”

Jiang Fengmian nodded. He stood up and brushed off his lap. "Is there somewhere that I could put my things?"

Lan Qingheng nodded. "I'll show you to the guest room," he said.

  
Meanwhile, Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin and Shi Taibai arrived in Yunmeng about a day later.

Lan Zhan felt much more familiar with Jiang Yanli this time around, so he graciously accepted her hug. Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan still weren't allowed to sleep in the same room, since they technically weren't married yet, but Lan Zhan had no complaints. They were going to be marrying in a week tops, as soon as his family arrived. He was going to spend the rest of his life sleeping in Wei Wuxian's bed, so a few nights alone wasn't going to kill him.

Once they were all settled in, Lan Zhan creeped over to the guest room that was across from his, where Shi Taibai was at. Once he got his attention, he said, "I want you to meet Jiang Shisong."

Shi Taibai chuckled and set down the bag he had been going through. "Well you know I'm curious, since you've been so eager."

Lan Zhan led him down the hallway and stopped at Wei Wuxian's room and knocked. "Come with us," he said.

Wei Wuxian came out almost immediately at the sound of Lan Zhan's voice. He swung open the door and grinned at them. "Is it time?"

"Don't make me nervous about this," Shi Taibai said, warily eyeing Wei Wuxian's grin.

"Don't be," Lan Zhan said. "It is around the time where the animals are fed and put up."

He led the two alphas out of the house and down the path that led to the barn. He had spent the past week in close quarters with multiple alphas his age... he should go see Jiang Yanli after dinner. Maybe attempt to get on Madame Yu's good side...

"It'll be fine, you two will get along great," Wei Wuxian said.

Sure enough, Jiang Shisong was tending to the chickens when the group approach. He turned around to look at them and smiled. "Young Master Lan, Young Master Wei," he greeted, bowing towards them. "And a friend...?"

"Shi Taibai," said the alpha as he stepped up and bowed. "I'm from a farm up in Gusu."

"They are the ones who have rabbits," Lan Zhan reminded him.

"Oh, yes! I remember you speaking to me about him. Hello, it's nice to finally put a face to the name," Jiang Shisong said and bowed back to Shi Taibai.

Lan Zhan greeted, "It is good to see you again, Jiang Shisong."

"It's been a little while since you saw Lan Zhan, huh?" Wei Wuxian remarked.

Jiang Shisong let out a small laugh. "Quite. Your presence is always a pleasure. I trust you both must be very excited for the wedding?"

Lan Zhan was practically glowing with happiness, though his lips only held a small smile. He leaned on Wei Wuxian and held onto his arm. "Yes," he said. Addressing Wei Wuxian he said, "It has been a long ride today. May we take a walk?"

"A walk it is. See you both around later!" Wei Wuxian said. With that, he strolled off in the other direction with Lan Zhan wrapped around his arm.

"I can help out around here if you'd like," Shi Taibai said to Jiang Shisong. "I'm not used to being cooped up like chickens either."

Jiang Shisong waved to them and then handed Shi Taibai a basket. "I can't say no to another pair of hands."

"A nice little farm," Shi Taibai said as he looked around. "I assume this is just for the Jiang family? What do you usually do at this hour?"

"I run this little farm by myself for the Jiang family. Some of the servants or sometimes Young Master Wei assist me," Jiang Shisong explained. "I typically check to see if there are any eggs that were missed in the morning run and top up food and such, make sure all the animals are content."

"Simple enough," Shi Taibai said. He took the basket over to the chicken coops and carefully looked inside. "Hello ladies," he said to the hens as he picked through the nests. "How long have you been working here?" he asked.

"Pretty much my whole life. My father worked here as the farmhand before me, before he passed, He trained me to take over," Jiang Shisong replied.

"I see," Shi Taibai said. "I've also been working the farm since I was toddling. Mama raised me to inherit ours. We never needed any farmhands, but two of my little sisters got married last year, and Mama mentioned she might start looking around next year. Our place is many times bigger than this."

Jiang Shisong nodded. "I admit that it gets a bit lonely here sometimes. I live out here in that building just over there on my own. But Young Master Wei stops by whenever he's home. His mate, Young Master Lan, has been very helpful to me when he's been around. Young Master Wei is a very lucky man."

Shi Taibai chuckled. "Yes he is," he agreed. He stood away from the chicken coop when he had searched through it, reordering the couple of eggs he had found. "I've been trying to get his hand since we were kids. I swore I'd marry that boy one day. But he never fancied me, so what could I do? I can see why, I suppose. Wei Wuxian is a mage, and charming too. Lan Zhan needs someone smart like him..."

"You seem plenty nice and charming to me," Jiang Shisong said casually. He started walking over to the cow barn. "There's nothing to say now I suppose. As long as he's happy, that's what matters."

Shi Taibai followed him, a smile on his face. "I suppose so," he said. "These are some pretty cows. Must be a different breed than ours. We've got a hardy kind, lots of fur. They need it though. I heard Yunmeng doesn't get cold like it is up there?"

Jiang Shisong shook his head. "Young Master Lan told me about how cold it is up there. It isn't like that here. It gets very hot in the summer there'd be no use for a thick coat."

“We had a terrible winter,” Shi Taibai said. He followed Jiang Shisong’s lead with feeding them. “Our whole house was covered. Usually it only gets up to half that much. But Lan Zhan says that the college always gets more, since they’re up on the mountain. Says the snow on campus was three time as tall. But yeah, we had to put up a hallway from our house to the barns to keep the snow out before the storm hit. We hired some people to help, we knew it was gonna get bad but not _that_ bad. Lan Zhan sure is sent from the heavens. He came all the way to the farm after the storm ended just to check on us and give us some of the produce he’d made with his magic.”

"Did he now? That does sound like him... His magic really is amazing," Jiang Shisong replied. He pet the cows affectionately and they nuzzled against his hand.

"It is, isn't it?" Shi Taibai said. "He did healing first, you know. I thought that was pretty cool. Then one day he told me that he was going to learn to grow plants without watering them or giving them sun, in the dead of winter. I said that's insane. But sure enough he came around a few winters later to show off the apples he had made. We can't grow apples up there, it gets cold too fast. That's when I was really thinking I had to marry him." He chuckled. "You ever had any other animals here other than cows and chickens?"

"My father said we once had pigs and sheep here too, but it can be difficult to look after them in the heat. Believe me, you'll be shedding some of those layers when the sun gets out," Jiang Shisong replied.

"I'm sure," Shi Taibai said. "It's been hell just riding in the carriage. It's nice right now, the clouds are out. I don't know how you do it here all the time. Say, what time do you do the milking and everything? I'd like to come out and help, if it wouldn't be a bother."

Jiang Shisong smiled wide at Shi Taibai. "I'd be happy for the help. I wake up at dawn to collect all the eggs and milk the cows."

"I'll probably wake up then too," Shi Taibai said. "That's when I get up at home. Do you ever have down time during the day? I was looking at the city before we got here and it looks like there's some cool places..."

"Yeah, the animals will be fine if I leave them for the afternoon. I could always show you around Yunmeng, if you'd like?" Jiang Shisong suggested. The wedding wouldn't be for a little while so there was plenty of time. He figured it might be nice to have a friend.

"I'd love that," Shi Taibai said. "It'll be nice to hang out with someone like myself. I get nervous around all these mages and bigshots, you know?"

That made Jiang Shisong laugh. "Yes, I completely understand. I feel the same way sometimes," he said.

Shi Taibai smiled. He was excited; he hadn't made any new friends in a really long time. It wasn't like he had a lot of time, with working on the farm like he did. He was glad Lan Zhan convinced him to come.


	54. Stay With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotus Pier is attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **See end notes for trigger warnings**

It ended up being lucky that Jiang Shisong took Shi Taibai out the following afternoon to the city. Wei Wuxian had been picking lotus roots out of the river when he heard the commotion and smelt the stench of smoke, he’d been picking them for Jiang Yanli for dinner while Lan Zhan bathed. He hopped out of the water and put on his boots and followed the source of the noise.

He didn’t get very far before he found traces of blood on the floor. His heart pounded in his chest and then he saw it – the Wen flag.

The Wens were here and they were out for blood.

Wei Wuxian ran indoors and found Jiang Yanli first. She was humming to herself as she chopped up the vegetables. He grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her away from the kitchen. She yelped.

“A-Xian!” she scolded him. “What are you doing?”

“The Wens are here. They’re _killing_ people, jiejie… You’re an omega, I… I’m taking you to the back. Keep the knife, just in case. I’m going to get Jiang Wanyin,” he told her.

That silenced Jiang Yanli immediately. She obeyed him and hurried to one of the back rooms where they kept the storage. The kitchen knife was suited more for food than people but if push came to shove…

Next, Wei Wuxian found Jiang Wanyin and warned him too.

“I’ll tell A-Niang. We’ll gather all the troops and fight back – they won’t get away with this. I’ll go out there, you… you get Lan Zhan first,” Jiang Wanyin said. “Fuck, why now?”

As much as Wei Wuxian wanted to get out there right away and warn people with Jiang Wanyin, fight with him, he knew that he was right. He needed Lan Zhan. He needed to make sure he was okay, look after him. He didn’t want to think about what the Wens would do if they got a hold of him. So, the two went their separate ways.

Wei Wuxian headed straight for the bathroom and knocked on the door before opening it. “Lan Zhan?” he called out.

Lan Zhan had just gotten out and was pulling on his clothes. He jumped in surprise, but relaxed when he heard his alpha's voice. It only lasted a second though, because soon he could smell the thick scent of distress on him, and a stricken face to match. He started to dress quicker.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Hurry up, the Wens are here. A _lot_ of them. They're killing people, Lan Zhan, it's anarchy out there," Wei Wuxian said. His hands curled into fists. "I don't... I don't know what you should do, you have to keep safe. Maybe go in the back with my sister? She has a knife. I... I have to go out there and help the other mages. Fight."

Lan Zhan's eyes widened. He threw on the purple short sleeved outer robe and took the sash with him, only pausing to pull on his socks and boots. "I'll keep Jiang Yanli safe," he said. He stopped himself from running out, only going to kiss Wei Wuxian quickly. "Be safe," he said.

"Thank you, I love you. You stay safe too, okay?" Wei Wuxian said. He met Lan Zhan's gaze and swallowed roughly. With that, the two of them left the room.

Wei Wuxian headed out of the estate. He focused his magical energy to create giant black tentacles that followed his every step. When he got out into the fray, he saw that Jiang Wanyin and Yu Ziyuan were already out with all those willing to fight.

The trouble was there were many more Wens than there were of them. They needed Jiang Fengmian to come home, they needed the assistance of the Lans.

Even so, Wei Wuxian unsheathed his sword and fought any Wen who came his way, impaling them on his sword or throwing them off with the tentacles. But things only seemed to get worse. No matter how hard Wei Wuxian tried to chase them off from the omegas (seemingly, their target) there were just too many of them and Wei Wuxian was beginning to grow tired.

"I can't keep this up!" he yelled to Jiang Wanyin.

"You have to!" Jiang Wanyin replied, though he looked just as haggard.

Wei Wuxian looked around. "Where's Auntie Yu?"

"I thought she was with you!"

"I haven't seen her!"

Panic flooded both of them. They both went searching for Yu Ziyuan but there was no trace of her. Did the Wens get her? She wouldn't have gone down without a fight.

The fight raged on. Wei Wuxian opted to ignore the derogatory things that were being said about omegas amongst all the battling. He was tired and bleeding and his tentacles were flitting out of reality. That was how they got the drop on him.

"Wei Wuxian!" was Jiang Wanyin's scream before Wei Wuxian found the world go dark.

Luckily, Jiang Yanli and Lan Zhan were safe for a while. Lan Zhan had grabbed a fire poker on the way and Jiang Yanli had a knife, but Lan Zhan knew what magic was capable of. If the Wens were skilled mages, these weapons wouldn't last long. After a while, he started to hear the fighting getting closer. He said, "Let's get out. They're going to come in here."

He helped Jiang Yanli climb out of the window and he followed soon after, and they made their way to the forest. Lan Zhan thought they had made it, but then he heard a Wen solider shout, "Back here, I found some omegas back here!"

Lan Zhan's heart jumped into his throat. He urged Jiang Yanli on faster, holding onto her hand as he sprinted. They both tripped over a fallen branch and hit the ground, and the soldiers that had been on their heels pounced on them.

Lan Zhan snarled and swung his weapon at the one holding Jiang Yanli and hit them bluntly in the head. They faltered and fell back, but the one holding him got his hands. He latched onto his arm and bit hard enough to taste blood.

The man screamed and hit Lan Zhan across the head, making him dizzy. He couldn't get his bearing before his hands were being tied, and he saw Jiang Yanli having the same done to her. She was sobbing hysterically, and he wanted to crawl over and comfort her.

"Come on," the other soldier said, an alpha woman. She picked Jiang Yanli up by her hands and started dragging her. "Don't fuck around, just get them in the carriage. We already have the head bitch, we'll leave after this."

"Madame Yu?" Lan Zhan asked, still dazed.

"Yeah," the soldier replied. "Shut up. _Gods,_ my head is pounding. You're a little shit, you know it?"

Lan Zhan stopped struggling. They had Madame Yu. Maybe he could get her out...

Once they went around the house, they saw bodies. Lan Zhan had seen bodies before, he had seen blood and injuries and death thanks to his training in healing, but it was different when it was outside of the hospital. He could only think _no, no no no,_ over and over, and search the bodies for his mate.

He didn't find him.

He was thrown into the carriage first, and Jiang Yanli was thrown on top of him. They both had gags tied between their teeth, and they were manhandled into sitting against the wall. There weren't any seats in the carriage, it was just an otherwise empty wooden box filled with omegas and a couple of soldiers, including the one who had tied Jiang Yanli up.

Then it started moving, apparently having been filled with enough prisoners. They had also grabbed a few of the omega servants. Lan Zhan locked eyes with Madame Yu, who was fuming with bloodshot eyes. He silently told her, _I'll get us out of here._

He sat obediently for a while, until the soldier closest to him turned his back. Lan Zhan jumped up and wrapped his arms around his neck, choking him in the crook of his elbow. The female soldier pried him off.

"You're a fucking nightmare, little shit," she spat, throwing him onto the floor. She untied his hands and kept a knee on his back while she retied his hands behind him.

Lan Zhan growled, upset that he had failed.

He was kept there for the rest of the ride, immobile on his stomach. He tried to keep his head clear. He was going to get them out one way or another. He hadn't been trained in martial arts and self-defense since he was a child for no reason.

Did they know who he was? He couldn't quite believe that the Wens would do something as rash as kidnap the nephew of the Headmaster of the Lan University of Magic. The university had enough manpower as it was, let alone if they called upon their alumni... he didn't exactly look like he normally did, though. He was wearing the short purple robes that Jiang Yanli had given him, and he had his hair braided and he wasn't wearing his forehead ribbon. He looked just like anyone else. Maybe he could use this to his advantage somehow. For now, he wanted to stay with the others.

It was forever before they arrived at their destination; Lan Zhan guessed about a day or two. They were given scraps to eat and only allowed to relieve themselves outside. Lan Zhan was thankful for the female soldier, who had at least the bare minimum of decency and looked away while they did.

Once they did arrive, bags were put over their heads and they were walked through hallways and eventually into a room. The bags were removed and Lan Zhan was relieved to see that they had all stayed together and weren't separated.

He recognized the voice of Wen Chao on the way, and he thought he also heard Jiang Wanyin's voice too. His heart skipped a beat; were Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian taken too?

"Behave," the female soldier said.

The other solider who had been with them chuckled. "I'll try," he said. "Go on."

The female soldier left, locking the door. Lan Zhan knelt down and looked around the room. It was a simple room, no furniture. There were some chains attached to the wall, which suggested that this was somewhere that held prisoners. The soldier, who now served as a guard, watched all of them, looking bored.

Lan Zhan sighed and started to think of a plan.

It wasn’t long after that moment that the doors opened again. Another soldier shoved a beaten Jiang Wanyin inside. His hands were tied and there was a thick metal collar around his neck. He could barely keep his eyes open, his legs caved, and he was biting hard on his lip to stifle any pain-related noises.

“He’s your problem now,” the soldier told the one at the door. “Don’t worry. He won’t affect any of those little brats now.”

The two soldiers laughed amongst themselves. Jiang Wanyin was shoved to the floor as he almost doubled over in pain. Instantly, Yu Ziyuan pulled against her bindings. Unlike the other omegas, she did not have a collar, but instead a set of braces on her wrists that chained her to the wall made of a similar material. She jerked towards Jiang Wanyin but did not get far.

“A-Cheng!” she said. She glared daggers at the soldier watching them in the room, seething with venom.

“A… A-Niang…” Jiang Wanyin sobbed. He couldn’t bear to look at his mother, he was ashamed.

The guard went over and started to chain Jiang Wanyin to the wall as if it were any boring day job, ignoring Madame Yu. Lan Zhan watched carefully, noticing the knife on the guard's hip. He wished he could speak and ask Jiang Wanyin what happened and where Wei Wuxian was, but he was still gagged. He instead just tried to say his name through it and make eye contact with him.

Apparently, the guard wanted to know too. "They didn't tell me I'd be babysitting an alpha," he said after Jiang Wanyin was tied up. "What'd they do to you, buddy?"

Jiang Wanyin just glared at him, curling in on himself and gritting his teeth. It felt like someone was ripping out his insides one by one. Death he could've taken, but not _this._ Not injecting him with some weird drug to change the fundamentals of who he was.

"Fuck you," he gasped.

"Alright, alright," the guard said. He meandered back over to his seat and Lan Zhan knee-walked over to Jiang Wanyin. He had figured out that the collar they had put on Jiang Yanli and the bracelets they had put on Madame Yu were to block their magic. Otherwise, Madame Yu would have electrocuted the soldiers. They must have assumed he was a servant or something. He didn't want to have a collar put on him, so he needed to be discreet.

He made his way over to Jiang Wanyin and looked at him in a concerned way, getting very close. He wanted the guard to think that he was his mate, and that he was just trying to comfort him. He sat down next to Jiang Wanyin and sought him out with his bound hands out of the guard's sight. If he could just check to make sure he wasn't fatally injured...

Jiang Wanyin flinched a bit when Lan Zhan came over to him and started inspecting him. Would he be able to detect what they'd done to him? His scent had definitely been muted.

Lan Zhan did notice something strange. There weren't any _wounds_ exactly, but there was a lot of disturbance in his reproductive organs. He sent some healing magic through, but he wasn't sure it was doing anything. He had looked to be in a lot of agony. He turned his head and tried to search Jiang Wanyin's eyes. _What did they do to you?_

"They tried to change me," Jiang Wanyin whispered low enough for Lan Zhan to hear but not enough to echo through the room.

Lan Zhan furrowed his brows. _Change_ him? He pulled his hands away. Did they try to change his...? Why would they do that? _How?_

He sat and brooded over that for a little while, then he was distracted by the guard. He had apparently gotten bored and now was harassing Jiang Yanli.

"You're beautiful, you know that? That Jin bastard is a lucky one." He stood up and started walking toward her.

Madame Yu protested at the same time as Lan Zhan scrambled to his feet. It was difficult with his hands tied behind his back, and the guard got to her and had the nerve to reach for the sash around her waist. Lan Zhan stumbled over and snarled, kicking the guard in the shin. He planted himself in Jiang Yanli's lap and watched the man wince in pain.

The guard scowled at him. "What are you gonna do, huh?" Still, he looked around the room and decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.

Lan Zhan felt fingers on his wrists. The rest of the omegas had their hands tied in front of them, so sitting in Jiang Yanli's lap had been a smart move. He didn't react even as the bond came loose, keeping his hands there. He watched the guard with a hateful look, his heart pounding in his chest. He had to act. He could do it, he just had to get him to turn around...

Gods, even one wrong move could be his death. That knife...

When he had an opening, Lan Zhan steeled himself and jumped up from Jiang Yanli's lap. He threw himself on the guard, taking him to the ground. The next few seconds were a blur. The guard rolled onto his back and Lan Zhan heard the knife unsheathe.

Time seemed to slow down. He looked down and saw the knife pointed at his abdomen, and he immediately reached for it. He shielded his abdomen with his left hand and used his right to grab the man's hand.

Pain ripped through his hand and he cried out, muffled by the gag. He smelled blood. Hands shaking, he wrestled the knife away and stabbed the guard in the chest. The guard screamed and he went to cover his mouth, but he saw the bloody state his hand was in and he froze. He recovered a second later and muffled the scream with his right hand, using his body to keep the knife lodged.

His head filled with pressure and he felt dizzy as he realized what he'd done.

He'd just killed someone.

Lan Zhan looked at the knife and tears filled his eyes. He sobbed, not just from the pain. He kept his hand on the man's mouth until his scream stopped, then he stumbled away. He started to heal his hand, which had bled all over the floor and now his clothes too. He crawled over to Jiang Yanli and started to untie her hands as soon as the bleeding was under control. He kept healing it as he went over to Madame Yu and inspected the cuffs around her wrists. How was he going to get these off??

“…Thank you. For saving my daughter,” Yu Ziyuan said quietly as Lan Zhan inspected her cuffs. She knew that there was no way that these cuffs were coming off until they figured out how to remove the collars as well. “Go untie all the others first.”

All heads turned as there was a thump outside the door. Then, the door swung open.

Wen Chao marched inside and surveyed the group of omegas on the floor. He sneered at the body of the soldier on the floor and nudged it with his foot.

“You’re all more troublesome than I thought. Ah, but no worries. I have a solution for problem omegas,” Wen Chao said. He looked over his shoulder. “Bring him in!”

Another soldier followed him, dragging along a figure. That figure soon revealed to be Wei Wuxian. His hands were tied behind his back, a collar firmly placed around his neck. He had gritted teeth, snarling at everyone who came close to him. He looked nothing short of _feral._

“A toy for you all! Enjoy!” Wen Chao said. He removed the bindings on Wei Wuxian’s wrists and walked out of the room with the soldier, leaving Wei Wuxian free in the room.

Wei Wuxian’s head was fogged, his eyes wide and crazed. He could barely feel the sting of the needle in his neck anymore. When he looked around, he could only faintly make out the figures of people in the room. Omegas. The stench of omegas – prey.

It didn’t take long for him to seek out the strongest omega in the pack. If he took down their leader, the rest would submit. He’d choose the prettiest to breed and the rest would be put down. Wei Wuxian launched towards Yu Ziyuan, teeth bared, and pinned her against the wall.

“Wei Wuxian!” she hissed. “Get off me!”

She kicked him off her but Wei Wuxian wasn’t having it. He just growled menacingly and got right back up. In seconds, he’d opened his mouth and dug his teeth into her throat. Yu Ziyuan shrieked as he tore through the flesh and ripped it out, blood spurting all over his face and dripping down his chin. She gargled and convulsed as he tore in again and then spat the flesh and muscle onto the floor.

Good as dead.

Wei Wuxian moved off her and surveyed the rest of the group.

“Wei Wuxian!” came Jiang Wanyin’s scream.

He didn’t smell of much.

“A-Xian! Stop! Please!” Jiang Yanli cried. She was sobbing hysterically. Such a pretty face for such pretty tears. Wei Wuxian leapt for her next and started to claw at her, face buried against her neck to inhale her scent while she tried to shove him away from her.

The struggle had Wei Wuxian tearing at her, ripping wounds into her kicking legs and fighting arms. He didn’t want to badly damage the pretty thing just yet. There were better things to be done.

Lan Zhan should have acted quicker, but he was shell shocked. The relief of seeing his mate had been frightfully short-lived, and it was clear just from taking one look at him that it wasn’t him. Something had been done to him; this wasn’t really Wei Wuxian. Then he was on Madame Yu and there was _blood,_ and Lan Zhan thought he was stuck in a nightmare. This was worse than anything he’d ever seen before, worse than the people coming in with torn-off limbs and…

Something inside Lan Zhan must have taken control, some sensible part of him that wasn’t accessible to his conscious thoughts. He jumped up and tackled Wei Wuxian from behind. It was both good and bad that he and his mate had wrestled a lot, because though Lan Zhan was familiar with Wei Wuxian’s fighting style, Wei Wuxian had learned some new tricks from him. He moved away from Jiang Yanli and flipped Lan Zhan over his shoulder and onto the floor, knocking the breath out of him for a second.

But Lan Zhan didn’t give Wei Wuxian time to attack. He launched himself at Wei Wuxian and stuck to him like a leech, taking his jacket in his hands, right around his neck and _twisting._ His left hand wasn’t fully healed yet and it hurt like hell and he groaned loudly in pain. He registered a searing pain in his back as well but it was background noise. He was skilled with his chokes though, and when he _really_ put his strength into it, there was no getting out of it.

He started counting. At ten seconds, Wei Wuxian faltered and weakened, and at fifteen he went limp. Lan Zhan kept counting to thirty and then let go, but he knew he had very limited time. Wei Wuxian was going to wake up in a minute at the _most,_ but he wasn’t willing to hold the choke for longer than that. He wasn’t going to kill his mate, no matter how violent he had become. (Part of him challenged that thought. Would he not put Wei Wuxian out of his misery in a state like this? Would he allow his mate to murder more people just to avoid killing him? Perhaps he wouldn’t.)

He threw Wei Wuxian off of him and stumbled to the guard. He had seen where he put the key to Jiang Wanyin’s cuffs, so he grabbed them and sprinted over to him. Hands shaking, he unlocked them.

“He’s going to wake up in less than a minute,” he said. “Get on top of him, hold him down. Keep his arms and teeth out of the way. I’ll heal your sister then I’ll help you.”

Jiang Wanyin fought through the pain to obey. As soon as he was free, he clambered on top of Wei Wuxian and held him down. Sure enough, he roused shortly after and growled loudly at the man on top of him.

“I know you’re in there, Wei Wuxian,” he growled back at him, on the edge of tears. “Stop this.”

His mind hadn’t even had time to process what had happened. Wei Wuxian had come in, feral as a dog, and _murdered_ his mother. He was angry, upset, a whole myriad of things racing through his mind. But he knew this wasn’t him, not truly, he’d been given something to make him like this. What was he supposed to feel?

Wei Wuxian struggled against him until he finally broke free. Jiang Wanyin was on him again as soon as he could, he needed to keep him down at the very least until Lan Zhan finished healing Jiang Yanli.

Fortunately, he didn’t quite run out of strength until Lan Zhan had finished. Wei Wuxian had punched him and launched back at the omega who had dared to fight him, who hadn’t been swayed by the killing of the strongest of their pack. It was oddly arousing to his senses, so he tackled Lan Zhan to the floor like he had done to him earlier.

Lan Zhan was caught in a moment of weakness. He had been strong up until this point, he had fought the guards and _killed_ a man and fought his own mate, but there had to be a second where he paused and tried to gather himself. He was in pain, _so_ much pain. The screams and sobs of the other omegas in the room blended into the background noise.

So when Wei Wuxian got to him again, he didn’t have the strength to fight back. He needed a minute, just another sixty seconds, then he could fight again. But Wei Wuxian wasn’t going to wait, this wasn’t like his training. He had gone through this over and over in his self-defense classes, but that moment of weakness was going to be his downfall.

Time once again slowed down and he closed his eyes. He didn’t have time or energy to think through the logic of the situation, to think about how he might be needed, how he could help. He just had that half a second to think, _if I must die, then let it be him._

He tilted his head back, tears spilling from his eyes. He submitted to his alpha like it was the most natural thing to do. He bared his throat and let his scent out, sweet and submissive, as two words entered his thoughts.

_Take me._

That sweet scent of submission seemed to briefly bring Wei Wuxian to his senses. He had his face buried against Lan Zhan's neck, inhaling the smell of his... of his _mate._ This was the man he was supposed to be marrying.

He pulled back from his neck slowly and looked down at Lan Zhan, a brief inkling of clarity in his eyes. "Lan... Lan Zhan..." he whispered.

Lan Zhan blinked his eyes open, his breath coming back to him. He stared for a few seconds, registering the situation. Wei Wuxian was waking up.

Sensing that he had a second chance at life, Lan Zhan’s strength came back to him. He swept Wei Wuxian into a side control position, keeping him on his back and laying across his chest to hold him down.

“Wanyin!” he yelled. “Hold his legs down!”

He realized then that he was crying, tears still pouring down his cheeks. He sobbed against Wei Wuxian’s chest.

“Wei Wuxian,” he cried, his voice cracking.

Jiang Wanyin scrambled over to hold Wei Wuxian's legs down. Wei Wuxian struggled in the hold, switching between snarling and calming down. He was fighting it, shaking his head and squirming.

Lan Zhan’s heart was breaking. Seeing his mate struggle like this, having to physically hold him down, was something he would never wish upon anyone. He used all of his strength to keep his position and had none left to suppress his emotions. His face was wet from both the exertion and the loud, messy sobs that wracked his body.

He looked at Wei Wuxian through his blurry vision. “Stay with me,” he begged, his voice barely recognizable from the tears. “Don’t leave me, Wei Wuxian, come back… please…”

He squeezed more tears from his eyes and waited for the wave of pressure to pass. “I won’t make it without you.”

In his moments of clarity, Wei Wuxian began to sob. Slowly, the snarling and growling faded out, leaving him bawling under Lan Zhan's hold. It felt like the weight of the world had just come crashing down on him.

"Lan Zhan..." he whispered again. "I love you."

“Just stay with me,” Lan Zhan croaked, his throat rough. “They did something to you. Just… keep fighting it. I love you so much, Wei Wuxian…”

Eventually, Wei Wuxian completely settled. He stared up at Lan Zhan, tears raining down his cheeks. "I'm... I'm here," he said.

Lan Zhan looked at him for a little while, evening out his breaths. He still had healing work to do. He carefully sat up and put his hands around Wei Wuxian's face. He was covered in blood, looking so unlike himself. Lan Zhan bent down to kiss his forehead where it was clean.

"Stay here," he said. "Don't get up, okay?" He looked at Jiang Wanyin and said, "You stay here too, just in case."

With that, he slowly pushed himself to his feet and returned to Jiang Yanli. The fatal wounds had been healed, but she had a lot more that required attention. Now that he could think, he registered the blood on his back that had dried and caked the back of his robes and pants. He would have to heal that too.

For now, he stripped from the waist up and inspected the robes. There was a large rip across the back.

"Jiang Wanyin," he said, "Can I have your outer layer? Or Wei Wuxian's?"

"Give... Give him mine," Wei Wuxian rasped. He wiggled to get out of his outer layer and then handed it to Jiang Wanyin who launched it over to Lan Zhan, unwilling to leave Wei Wuxian for a second.

Wei Wuxian looked around the room, taking in the carnage, the crying, the blood everywhere and on himself. Had he done this? Guilt surged in his chest.

Lan Zhan took the jacket and held it up in front of Jiang Yanli as a barrier to protect her modesty. The front of her robes had been ripped by Wei Wuxian’s strikes and then Lan Zhan when he had rushed to heal the wound on her chest.

“I’ll need you to take off your robes,” he said quietly to her. “You can put this across your front while I see to the wounds on your arms. You can wear my robes when I am finished, because only the back of them is ripped. My dudou is clean. Are there any wounds on your lower body except this one on your thigh?”

Jiang Yanli had been quiet for a while, just crying silently. She shook her head as her trembling fingers started removing her robes so that Lan Zhan could heal her wounds.

"Thank you," she whispered. Normally, she would've hated the idea of any man that wasn't her mate seeing her this vulnerable, but Lan Zhan was a friend. He'd been nothing but kind to them since they were put here. He protected her, helped her, and he was an omega himself.

Lan Zhan draped the jacket over her chest and went to the first gash on her arm. He started to cry again, just from the intensity of everything.

“My family will be here in a few days at the most, maybe soon,” he said, sniffing. He spoke loud enough that the rest of the room could hear. “Maybe more if they have to gather forces first. The Wens won’t want to fight us head-on. They might be able to negotiate. I don’t think they intended to take me. They thought I was a servant, so they didn’t block my magic.”

"Believe me when I say that we're all grateful for your magic, Lan Zhan," Jiang Yanli replied.

Lan Zhan huffed out a laugh, though it was half of a sob. He continued healing her arms until they were completely healed, then he took his robes and handed them to her and held the jacket up again so she could dress. The back of those robes were covered in blood, but at least she would have her modesty safe. He moved on to her thigh next. The pants were ripped where the gash was at, but there was nothing he could do for that. It wasn't a bad rip.

He looked around at the other omegas in the room. "Does anyone happen to have a needle and thread with them?" he asked. There were servants among them, so maybe someone had a sewing kit...

There was some murmuring amongst the group before one omega girl shuffled forwards. She was a skinny thing with a plain face, but she reached for her pocket and pulled out a needle and some thread.

"They didn't search me," she said softly and handed Lan Zhan the items. "They didn't want to touch me."

"Thank you," Lan Zhan said. He took the items and pocketed it. He would fix the clothes once he was finished doing all of the healing work. For now, he had his own wounds to deal with.

He reached back and placed his palm on the small of his back and sent his magic through. The gash was pretty severe, and he had lost a lot of blood judging by how much was on his hand and how lightheaded he was. He wished he had water he could wash it with, since he had fallen on his back earlier, but there was nothing else he could do. He healed it until it stopped hurting, though he knew he would have a scar. Jiang Yanli would also have scars, but he had done his best to make them as light as possible. He just didn't have the energy to do that much with himself.

He wiped the blood off on his pants and then took the needle and thread and started to mend the rip in Jiang Yanli's pants, being as careful as he could be.

Jiang Yanli watched Lan Zhan as he worked. She really didn't have the words to thank him enough for he'd managed to save them all. Without Lan Zhan, they would've never been untied, the solider might have assaulted her, Wei Wuxian might have killed them all.

"I'm going to start studying offense magic," Lan Zhan said decisively. "If I can learn to control fire or ice, I can protect myself and others in an emergency like this."

He tied the thread and then put the needle back into the little box. He would mend the rips on the back of Jiang Yanli's robes eventually, but now he needed to rest. He took Wei Wuxian's jacket and crawled over to his mate and lay down, using the jacket as a pillow.

Wei Wuxian rolled over to wrap an arm around Lan Zhan's waist. He pressed his forehead against his shoulder, still sniffling a bit.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"We'll get out of this," Lan Zhan whispered back. He closed his eyes and let himself drift. He was absolutely exhausted. Hopefully Wen Chao and the others wouldn't return for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: graphic violence, blood, gore, attempted rape


	55. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap since it's been a long time since an update: Lotus Pier was attacked. Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin, Madame Yu, Lan Zhan, and a bunch of omega servants were captured by the Wens and taken to their estate (they didn't intend to take Lan Zhan, but he was dressed differently than normal and didn't recognize him). Wei Wuxian was put in the room with the rest of them after being given an experimental potion that made him go feral and he killed Madame Yu, and attacked Jiang Yanli. Lan Zhan and Jiang Wanyin fought him until he was able to snap out of it.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shisong and Shi Taibai had come back from the city to a burnt mess. Lotus Pier carried the mean stench of smoke and ruin, the buildings collapsed the and lake polluted with rubble and dirt. Jiang Shisong almost collapsed when he saw the wreckage. There was blood _everywhere._ Bodies that had been abandoned. He hurried to the nearest bush to vomit.

“Oh Gods,” he cried. He turned to Shi Taibai, tears spilling down his cheeks as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “The farm…! They’ve burnt the farm, all the animals, I…”

Shi Taibai had no idea what could have happened, who could have done this, but he knew they had to do something. He went to Jiang Shisong and embraced him, patting his back. "Come on," he said. "Let's.... let's go see if we can find anyone left." He took a sword from a fallen man and held it nervously. He had never fought before, but he didn't want to rush in without anything to protect himself.

Jiang Shisong sniffled and nodded. He followed Shi Taibai closely, occasionally holding onto his arm as they walked through. There was no one around but Jiang Shisong did notice a Wen flag stuck in the mud. "The Wens... Young Master Wei did tell me that they were worried about them, they... don't have a good reputation," he said. He looked at Shi Taibai. "Do you think they could've done this?

"The Wens..." Shi Taibai looked at the flag. He didn't recognize it. "I think I've heard of them before. They're that cult, right? Is that their flag?"

"They wanna put down all the omegas," Jiang Shisong said with a nod. He wiped his eyes. "But at least... at least we haven't seen the bodies of the young masters... or Mistress Yu."

Shi Taibai nodded slowly, his brows furrowed. "We should go," he said. "The rest of the Lan family is on their way here. Let's go down the main road and meet them, wherever they are. Do the Jiangs happen to have a stable or something? Or maybe one in the city will give us some horses, considering the situation?"

"The stables will be burnt too, I imagine. Let's... go to the city," Jiang Shisong said. He tugged on Shi Taibai's hand as they walked as briskly as they could to retrieve some horses and make their way down the main road to find the Lans.

It was truly the last thing Shi Taibai had expected out of this trip. Who could have even dreamed of this, other than people with chronic nightmares? He was at least glad that he wasn’t alone.

The owners of the stable in the city weren’t willing to hand over horses to them. Shi Taibai stressed the importance of the situation and that they _needed_ a way to get help, and they didn’t have enough money for a carriage ride. Eventually they took pity and let them take the only mule they had. It had been dropped off for them to board a few years earlier but the owner never returned for it. Shi Taibai emptied his wallet and tacked up the animal himself.

“She’s got some long legs,” he told Jiang Shisong. “Even if we can’t go faster than a walk, she’ll be faster than us on foot. Besides, we can put use to her back home.”

Jiang Shisong nodded and got on the back of the mule, wrapping his arms around Shi Taibai's waist. "I hope they aren't too far," he said.

Shi Taibai did too. They were almost out of money now.

Thankfully, they only had to sleep one night on the side of the road before they found the carriage bringing the Lans. Shi Taibai’s mother actually stuck his head out before they could reach it to look in.

“A-Ying?” he cried.

“Papa!” Shi Taibai yelled, quickly sliding off the mule. “Stop! Stop the carriage! Lotus Pier’s been attacked!”

The person driving the carriage pulled the reins while the doors opened and Wei Fang stepped outside. “What do you mean?”

“It was burned down!” Shi Taibai said. “We were in the city when it happened. We came back and it was all burned, there were dead bodies!”

"It was terrible!" Jiang Shisong added. He jumped off the mule as well but kept hold of the reins. "Everything is gone, there's no-one in sight. We'd... gone into the city and when we came back, everything had been razed. There's no sign of any of the Young Masters. But the... We saw a flag. The Wen flag. We think they were the ones who attacked them!"

"Shit," Jiang Fengmian swore. He got out of the carriage and walked over to Jiang Shisong. He looked him up and down. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Jiang Shisong shook his head. "No, I'm fine... thank you, Master Jiang. But I'm worried about the Young Masters and... and Mistress Yu."

"Xichen can take us to the Wen estate," Lan Qiren said. He followed the rest of the family out of the carriage. "Xia-jie, you stay with Wei Fang and these young men. Go back to Gusu."

Lan Xia turned to protest. "They have A-Zhan," she said. "You want me to go home?"

"Someone needs to prepare the university," Lan Qiren said. "The Wens could very well be on their way to attack us next. Have student and staff volunteers write letters to the alumni. You know where to find my emergency plans." It was said in such a commanding tone, Lan Xia couldn't hope to argue anymore.

"The post office isn't far," Lan Xichen said. "I can borrow some rides there. I... will do my best to take all four of us."

"You are a strong mage," Lan Qingheng said. "I've seen you at work. I wouldn't trust anyone more."

"Please hurry. I don't trust the Wens at all," Jiang Shisong said. Jiang Fengmian pat Jiang Shisong's shoulder and then turned to look at Lan Qingheng in the carriage. "I'm coming with you. My sons are there."

Lan Qingheng nodded. They piled into the carriage and took off to the nearest post office, leaving the others to wait for the carriage to return to take them back to Gusu.

It was quiet for a moment, then Wei Fang forced a smile. "Well, A-Ying, why don't you introduce me?"

Shi Taibai jumped. "A-ah, yes. This is Jiang Shisong."

"Jiang Shisong." Wei Fang bowed politely. "I am Wei Fang. I am Shi Taibai's mother. It is unfortunate that we must meet on such circumstances."

Jiang Shisong bowed back to him. "I wish it were better as well. Um. Your son has been very kind, he has helped me on my farm before it... before it burnt. I am a farmhand myself, I took care of the Jiang family's farm."

“Is that right?” Wei Fang looked at Shi Taibai. “I’m glad to see you made a friend.” Turning back to Jiang Shisong he said, “Well, you’re welcome to come back home with us.”

"Truly? I... would imagine, hoping that the Young Masters are okay, that they will be staying in Gusu. With no farm to take care of I... I would very much appreciate it," Jiang Shisong replied.

Wei Fang smiled. “Of course,” he said. “You can stay as long as you need. If you want us to put you to work, we could always use a farmhand.” He looked at Lan Xia and said, “I do not know where the rest of the Jiang family will live for now, but we have room if need be. It’s a tragedy, what has happened.”

Lan Xia forced a smile. “If the Jiangs need a place to stay then they can stay with us at the college. But I am sure they would appreciate the gesture.”

"Yes, thank you very much, it is very kind of you," Jiang Shisong said. He bowed again. "Er... What should I call you?"

Wei Fang was about to answer _Master Wei,_ but he remembered that Lan Zhan's mate had the same surname. He didn't want to cause confusion, so he said, "You can call me Master Shi, if you prefer formalities. But I wouldn't mind an Uncle Shi or Uncle Wei either."

Jiang Shisong smiled and nodded. Then, he turned to look at Shi Taibai. "I see that kindness runs in your family," he said.

Shi Taibai rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. Wei Fang said, "It's not often he can make friends. I'm happy to accommodate."

Lan Xichen ended up using nearly all of his magic to get everyone to the Wen estate. It was one thing to lift oneself on an object and project it at top speed, but doing that with a total of _four_ people was something else. They flew for hours until it was nightfall and the estate came into view. Lan Xichen dropped everyone off in the forest nearby.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to go in," he said.

"Of course," Lan Qingheng said. "You did well, A-Huan. Brother, stay here with him? I can protect Jiang Fengmian and myself."

Lan Qiren looked troubled, but he nodded. His magic specialty was ice offense, but Lan Qingheng's was defense, which was much more valuable in battle. They couldn't expect Jiang Fengmian to stay behind either, so it was the only choice left. Lan Qingheng looked at Jiang Fengmian and nodded. "Let's go in through the side there. Perhaps we will have less resistance."

Jiang Fengmian nodded and the two of them sneaked inside. The Wen estate was rather big and there were soldiers posted around the place at seemingly every corner, and Lan Qingheng took care of them quickly. Still, there were less than he would have anticipated. He knew that the Wens had an army. Jiang Fengmian stuck close by Lan Qingheng's side as they navigated the estate until they came across a suspicious looking door.

"Should we go in?" Jiang Fengmian whispered. He leaned up against the door to see if he could hear anything on the other side.

They had entered some kind of area that looked like it was meant for prisoners -- the doors were all bolted in a strange way, and it wasn't given the same décor. The door they had stopped at was indeed suspicious-looking. Lan Qingheng listened as well, and thought he could hear a woman's voice. She was crying.

He put his knuckles to the door and lightly knocked nine times: twice, three times, then four more times. It was a pattern Lan Zhan came up with as a child, something that he would do when he wanted Lan Qingheng to save him from a situation but didn't want anyone else to know. It was something only they knew.

"Daddy?"

Lan Qingheng let out the breath he had been holding. "It's me, A-Zhan," he said quietly. "Stay back from the door. I'm gonna get you out."

He stood up straight and studied the door. There was a chain wrapped around the handle and a piece of metal sticking out of the wall next to it, probably as some kind of extra protection. Lan Qingheng cast a strong defense spell on his hand, then leaned against the wall and slipped his hand between the chains to grab onto one. He took a few deep breaths, then used all of the strength he had in his body to push against the chain. The defense spell kept his hand secure and also repelled the chain to an extent, aiding in his efforts. After about ten seconds, the chain snapped and he stumbled a little from the momentum.

He looked around, panting. "I wonder why they're not guarding this hallway," he breathed, taking down his defense spell and recasting one on the outside of his arm. The door was still locked, but he could bash it in now. The secondary lock didn't look that strong.

“I don’t know,” Jiang Fengmian said. He had a bad feeling about all of this but if Lan Zhan was in there, there was a good chance that his children, especially Jiang Yanli, could be there too, unless they had separated their prisoners by alpha and omega dynamics. He watched as Lan Qingheng busted the secondary lock and the two of them walked inside.

Sure enough, there were his sons. Wei Wuxian was on the floor with Lan Zhan and he was… he was covered head to toe in blood. It was all over his face, his clothes, up his arms. He didn’t know whether he hoped that it wasn’t his own blood or not. His gaze travelled up to Jiang Wanyin, sat against the wall and cradling his stomach with a black eye and a steely gaze. Next to him was Jiang Yanli, dressed in Lan Zhan’s robes and looking petrified.

It was then that he saw _her._

Yu Ziyuan was limp, her wrists in metal braces and chained to the wall. Jiang Fengmian couldn’t see her neck for all the blood and gore, red dribbling down the front of her robes. Immediately, he felt ill. He took a few shaky steps forward before he collapsed onto his knees in front of her.

“My lady…” he whispered. It was hard to believe what he was seeing. His heart pounded as he remembered all the blood all over Wei Wuxian. Did he have something to do with this?

“A-Die,” Jiang Yanli cried. She launched herself into Jiang Fengmian’s arms and he happily hugged her tightly. He buried his face against the top of her head and rubbed her back as she cried into his arms. “I’m here angel,” he whispered to her.

Jiang Wanyin hesitantly scooted himself towards Jiang Fengmian until Jiang Fengmian turned to look at Wei Wuxian and called out: “A-Xian. Come here.”

Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Zhan for approval before shuffling over to Jiang Fengmian. He was a smart man, there was no way that he hadn’t put two and two together, taking in the sight of him covered in blood and his wife equally mangled.

“Did you do this, A-Xian?” he asked, his arms still wrapped around Jiang Yanli.

Wei Wuxian didn’t know what to say. He swallowed roughly and looked down at the floor. In his chest, he held imaginable levels of guilt. His mind was foggy and he couldn’t recall exactly what had happened, but he knew that he was responsible. He could taste blood in his mouth and feel it under his fingernails, drying slowly. “Yes,” he said quietly.

“Why?”

“I… don’t remember.”

Jiang Yanli looked up at her father and sniffled. “They drugged him, A-Die. They drugged him and he went feral, he was attacking everyone. Lan Zhan, he… he fought with him and broke him out of it. I know he didn’t mean to do it, he… I…”

Jiang Fengmian opened one of his arms and gestured for Wei Wuxian to join the huddle. Hesitantly, Wei Wuxian let himself be pulled in, cuddling with Jiang Yanli and Jiang Fengmian.

“Uncle Jiang… I’m sorry…” he whispered.

“I know, A-Xian,” Jiang Fengmian said. “It’s a terrible thing that’s happened here today.”

In the corner, Jiang Wanyin seethed silently. He turned his head away from the hugging group and curled in on himself.

Lan Zhan was still on the ground when Lan Qingheng came to see him. “Are you okay?” he asked, helping him sit up.

Lan Zhan nodded. He was wearing Wei Wuxian’s jacket now to keep himself decent. He looked at Jiang Wanyin and then back at his father. “Daddy, do you have any potions with you? Jiang Wanyin…”

Lan Qingheng looked up at the young man in the corner, then fished out his bag where he kept his potions. He walked over to him and knelt down. “Are you okay, son?” he asked.

“They did something to him,” Lan Zhan said quietly, moving over to them. “It’s… it’s complicated. Just… do you have something for pain?”

Lan Qingheng pulled out a potion and uncorked it, offering it to Jiang Wanyin. “I can take you to a healer when we’re out of here,” he said.

"Thank you," Jiang Wanyin said softly. He took the potion from Lan Qingheng and drank it. It made him feel a little better and he was grateful.

Lan Qingheng nodded and helped Jiang Wanyin stand, then turned to the others. The omega servants looked terrified. “Is anyone else hurt?”

“We’re fine,” Lan Zhan said. “We need to leave.”

Lan Qingheng approached the group on the floor, taking in the carnage. That must be Jiang Fengmian’s wife… He laid a gentle hand on Jiang Fengmian’s shoulder. “I will carry her body if you cannot,” he said softly.

Jiang Fengmian shook his head. "I would but I... There's these braces on her arms, they're chaining her to the wall and I... I'm not sure how to remove them."

"They're the same as the collars," Wei Wuxian replied, hesitantly running his fingers over his own collar. "They seal off your magic."

Lan Qingheng studied the chains. They were thick, meaning that he would need a tool if he wanted to break them.

“We need to leave,” Lan Zhan repeated himself. Lan Qingheng turned to see him wiping off a dagger on a soldier’s body. “Wen Chao might come back.”

Jiang Fengmian took a deep breath. He could probably melt the chains with his magic but he would burn his hands in the process if he didn't want to harm her or set anything in the room on fire. Though, he supposed he could always heal them later... He turned to look at Lan Qingheng. "Can you... put a barrier on my hands?" he asked.

Lan Qingheng nodded and leaned down, letting his hands hover over Jiang Fengmian’s. The light blue, transparent barrier formed around them like a thin glove. “Go ahead,” he said.

"Thank you," Jiang Fengmian said. He put his hands on the chains and focused his magical energy. After a deep breath, he let the heat energy seep into hands, getting hot enough to completely melt the chains. Once they were melted, he scooped Yu Ziyuan into his arms.

Lan Qingheng took off the barrier and then cast another one to cover all of the people in the room. There were a lot, so the barrier wasn’t very strong. But it would protect them from most first attacks. “Let’s go,” he told them. Lan Zhan handed him the dagger.

Jiang Fengmian nodded and Wei Wuxian helped Jiang Yanli to her feet. Jiang Wanyin followed behind, still idly rubbing at his stomach. They made their way out of the room along with the other servants.

However, they didn't get far before Wen Chao turned a corner to see them. His eyes were blown wide as he saw the prisoners, _his_ prisoners. Fuck, his dad was going to be _pissed_ if he found out they'd escaped under his watch. And there were _two_ more people than there was before! "Hey! What the fuck are you rats doing out? Guards! Seize them!" he yelled, pointing fingers at the group.

Lan Qingheng armed himself more fully and held his hand back to tell the others to stay, then approached the guards fearlessly. “You would really attack a Lan family member?” he asked. “Since when have the Wens become so reckless? Kidnapping my son, leaving him in there to die. Did you _really_ think we would allow you to do this?“

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Wen Chao spluttered. He steeled himself, broadening his shoulders and clenching his fists.

“Do you not realize you’re speaking to Lan Qingheng?” he asked, raising his voice. “I do not wear the traditional forehead ribbon but I am still a Lan in every way that matters. The university is already preparing for war, _Wen Chao._ Is that what you and your father intended when you took Lan Zhan captive?” He looked at the guards. “Come on. Attack me. I dare you to find out what happens when you raise your sword against the Lan family.”

"Bullshit! We didn't touch your son. Do you think we're fucking idiots?" Wen Chao spat. He huffed. "But you'll... you'll all pay, I hope you know that! One day, you'll all be under our thumb. You and all your omega whores!"

Lan Zhan finally decided to speak up. He had come here with his hair still in a braid, but it had come loose when he had been fighting and he put it back up in a half ponytail similar to what he always wore. He stepped to the side so Wen Chao could see him. “Do you not recognize me?” he asked. “After you wrote me a polite letter asking for my help? To think that I started studying animal life magic for _your_ benefit... Did you want my help at all? Or do you consider me just another omega whore?”

He actually didn’t know if Wen Chao wanted his help or if it had been a ploy to get him alone so he could kidnap him. Or both. He _was_ the only known life mage in existence, since all the others either died or disappeared, perhaps retired or moved somewhere far away. It wasn’t unthinkable that the Wens would want someone like him on their side... but Wen Chao had also always seemed to want to take him to bed, so there was that.

Wen Chao was clearly taken aback by Lan Zhan's words. He looked him up and down but his shock soon morphed into a derisive snort of laughter. "Look at you," he said, gesturing towards Lan Zhan. "It's not my fault I mistook you for a common whore."

"Go fuck yourself, asshole," Wei Wuxian snarled.

Lan Zhan ran his fingers along the inside of the collar of Wei Wuxian’s jacket. He considered how to respond to that. “Are you angry that it’s not _your_ jacket I’m wearing?” he asked.

Lan Qingheng glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then looked back at Wen Chao. “If you did not intend to take Lan Zhan then perhaps we can extend our time of peace somewhat longer,” he said. “I hope you realize that should the university turn its forces against the Wen family, you will not survive. If we do not leave this estate in one piece, I can assure you that will happen quite soon.”

"We don't need war," Wen Chao said. A smarmy grin grew on his face and he put his hands up in the air. "I know when I'm outmatched here. I'll die if I try to fight you all now. But I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you."

“I’ll let the others know,” Lan Qingheng said. He stepped forward warily, motioning for the others to move past him and keeping an eye on the guards.

Wen Chao let him pass, eyes on him the whole time. As Lan Zhan walked past him, he shot him a wink.

Lan Zhan caught it and he paused walking. He really wanted to know what Wen Chao’s deal was. “Why did you send me that letter?” he asked.

“Lan Zhan,” Lan Qingheng warned. “Let’s go.”

Wei Wuxian made sure to growl at Wen Chao as he walked past him but it didn't wipe the smirk off his face.

Lan Zhan wanted to stay and _demand_ an answer, but the others were already past. He gave Wen Chao a conflicted expression and continued walking, sticking close to Wei Wuxian. Maybe Wen Chao sent it without his family’s permission. Maybe it was just an excuse to get him alone and he didn’t want to admit it with Lan Zhan’s mate and father around... He wanted to talk to Wen Chao alone. No guards, no weapons. See what his goal was. But that wasn’t going to happen.

It wasn’t too much further before they got to the exit. Lan Qingheng hoped they wouldn’t come across anymore guards or soldiers after this.

Wei Wuxian turned to look at Jiang Yanli as they finally left the estate. "Are you okay, jiejie?" he asked softly. "I'm... I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Jiang Yanli shook her head. "It's okay. I'm fine, A-Xian."

"Okay, good..." Wei Wuxian said, breathing a sigh of relief. He turned to look at Lan Qingheng. "How did you guys find out we were here?"

Lan Qingheng explained how Jiang Shisong and Shi Taibai had found them. Lan Zhan could only look sadly at Jiang Yanli. She truly was a kind soul. She had been seriously hurt, to the point where she could have died had Lan Zhan not been there to heal her. He guessed he had had about two minutes to spare before she really did. But she didn’t let any of that show on her face. She just looked tired, which was understandable since she had lost a lot of blood. She had already put it behind her, for Wei Wuxian’s benefit.

_”Didi!”_ came a frantic voice, seconds before Lan Xichen stumbled out of the bushes to embrace him.

“Da-ge,” Lan Zhan said, hugging him back. “I am okay.”

Lan Xichen was crying. “I was so scared that you... that you...”

“Let’s go,” Lan Qiren said. “Can everybody walk?”

There was a collective murmuring in agreement amongst the group. "It seems everyone is alright. A-Cheng requires a healer once we are out of Qishan," Jiang Fengmian said. He looked down at Yu Ziyuan in his arms. "And I... will require a suitable place to bury my wife."

“Would you like to bury her at Lotus Pier?” Lan Qingheng asked. “I can take you and your family to wherever she was raised if you prefer that.”

"She would prefer MeishanYu, where she was born... But it's quite the travel. I could not ask you to come that far," Jiang Fengmian said.

Lan Qingheng shook his head. “I am not needed in Gusu right now,” he said, looking at Lan Qiren to confirm. “We can hire a flight service to take us there faster.” Those were expensive, but he could afford it. They would have to travel to the nearest major city to find one.

Lan Zhan put a hand on Wei Wuxian’s arm. “Do you want to go with them?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian looked over at Yu Ziyuan in Jiang Fengmian's arms. It felt wrong for him to stand there and mourn her death with the rest of the Jiang family, especially when he had been the one who caused this. So, he shook his head slowly. "No," he said softly. "I would like to go back to Gusu with you."

Lan Zhan nodded and hugged Wei Wuxian’s arm, kissing his shoulder. “Okay,” he said.

The walk was a long one. Lan Xichen ended up using his magic to carry some of the women on the rides they had brought with them. As soon as they got to a town, they hired two carriages to take them out of Qishan and to a bigger city where they could find a high speed transport service. Lan Zhan’s legs were numb by then and he was stumbling a little, but he had refused to have Lan Xichen carry him. Though at some point he had relented and let his father carry him on his back for a while.

Lan Qingheng put a gentle hand on Jiang Wanyin’s shoulder. “It has already been hours, but it will be many more before we are out of here. Will you be okay? We can try our luck with a healer here if not.”

"I'll manage," Jiang Wanyin said. He'd always put on a hard front and truthfully, the potion was beginning to wear off and the pain was seeping back into his body, but he was convinced that he could handle it. Surely, there would be no more harm in leaving things a bit longer. The last thing he wanted to be was an even bigger inconvenience.

Wei Wuxian turned to look at Jiang Wanyin with a mournful expression. Through all of this, he'd been so concerned with himself and the things that he'd done that he hadn't even thought about his brother. He approached him slowly. "You can't hide anything from me, you know," he said in an attempt to keep things light. "I can give you a hand-"

Jiang Wanyin slapped Wei Wuxian's hand away when it reached for him. He scowled at him. "Don't fucking touch me. Don't even talk to me."

Wei Wuxian swallowed roughly. He knew Jiang Wanyin had good reason to reject him. After everything he'd seen him do... however, it still hurt. He turned away with a curt nod, staring down at the floor. He'd understand if Jiang Wanyin never forgave him.

They had stopped by a creek that they found on the way and wiped the blood off their bodies, but there was nothing to be done about their clothes and the people who had been woken up to drive the carriages were frightened when seeing them, especially when they saw Madame Yu’s body. But when Lan Qingheng waved around his bloated money bag, they shut their mouths. Lan Zhan lay down in Wei Wuxian’s lap when they settled in one of the carriages. He was miserable, tired, and wanted to sleep for the next two weeks.

Wei Wuxian was grateful for Lan Zhan's company. He needed the comfort right now, the familiarity of someone who loved him deeply. Everything in his body felt numb and the passing of time just seemed to flow in and out of his mind. When he laid down in his lap, Wei Wuxian raked his fingers through his hair in a relaxing motion before beginning to doze himself.


	56. Coping

Everyone did their best to sleep on the way. It was many hours before they reached a big enough city that had a high speed transport service, long enough that the sun was already coming up. Lan Qingheng had passed Jiang Wanyin another potion for pain about halfway through the ride when it was clear he was still in pain.

Once they got out of the carriages and stretched their legs, Lan Qingheng poured about half of his money into another bag for Lan Zhan to take. “This is more than enough for new clothes, inns and carriage rides back to Gusu,” he said. To Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli he asked, “Would you two like to accompany us to bury your mother? We can wait until Jiang Wanyin has seen a healer.”

Both Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli nodded. "We don't have to stop for-" Jiang Wanyin started.

"Don't be silly. We can stop off at a healer for A-Cheng and then travel the rest of the way to bury... to bury A-Niang," Jiang Yanli interjected. A lump in her throat formed as she said that last part. It still didn't quite feel real.

Lan Qingheng nodded. “That’s what we’ll do then, and we can get you new clothes as well, young mistress.” He went over to hug Lan Zhan and kissed the top of his head. “Be safe,” he said.

“We will,” Lan Zhan said. “Are you coming back to Gusu afterwards?”

Lan Qingheng considered. “Possibly,” he said. “We will see what happens. I will keep in touch with you.”

“We could use your help in the event of an attack,” Lan Qiren said. “We can put aside the past in this time.”

Lan Qingheng nodded. “Thank you,” he said. With that he turned to the Jiang family and motioned for them to follow as he sought out a healer.

Wei Wuxian let out a long, deep breath once they had walked away. He turned to look at Lan Zhan and reached for his hand.

Lan Zhan pulled his hand up to kiss it. “Let us find a clothing store and get you something decent to wear,” Lan Xichen said. “Then we can all get breakfast.”

“Let’s go to Lotus Pier after this,” Lan Zhan said. “I want to see what is left. If our wedding robes...”

"You saw what happened, Lan Zhan. They razed the place," Wei Wuxian mumbled.

“They were locked away,” Lan Zhan argued. “What if the fire didn’t get them?”

“I can help you make new ones, Young Master Lan,” one of the girls said. She had been the one who gave him her sewing kit. They had talked a bit on the way back.

“I’ll help too,” another girl said, and a few others nodded.

Wei Wuxian pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just don't... I just don't know if I can go wading through the rubble of my _home_ right now, Lan Zhan."

To his own surprise, Lan Zhan was so sensitive that hearing the barest frustration in Wei Wuxian’s voice scared him. Then it made him feel like he’d been kicked. He let go of Wei Wuxian’s hand and swallowed it down, saying nothing. He _wasn’t_ going to cry. He had made it ever since leaving the place without crying.

Lan Xichen, of course, read him like a book. He rushed forward, pulling Lan Zhan away from his mate and holding his cheeks. “Didi,” he said gently, “do you still have the patterns for the robes?”

Lan Zhan nodded tersely.

“Then let’s make new ones. These ladies said they would help. I’m sure Su Ming would like to help too. Come on, let’s get some breakfast.”

Now that he’d started, Lan Zhan feared that he wasn’t going to stop. He’d pushed everything away and it was threatening to come back and beat him down. “Go ahead, I need a minute,” he said before climbing back into the carriage and shutting the door. He locked it for good measure.

Lan Xichen blinked, then sighed. “Do you want us to bring something back for you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Lan Zhan answered.

Wei Wuxian looked at the carriage doors sadly. He hadn't meant to upset Lan Zhan but everything was still so raw and confusing. His whole life had been flipped upside down in a matter of days. He'd been so ready to get married to the love of his life, to be _happy_ and then all of this had happened. He'd done unimaginable things and he knew he should be grateful that Lan Zhan even wanted to stay with him after all that.

"Let's get something to eat," he said to Lan Xichen. Truthfully, he didn't have much of an appetite after everything he'd seen, but he welcomed the distraction.

Lan Xichen nodded, then turned to Uncle. “Would you like me to stay here?” he asked.

“I will,” Lan Qiren said. “Just bring something back for us. Here.” He gave him some money, the shooed him off.

It was still early in the morning, so people were just opening their shops. Lan Xichen stopped at the first one that seemed like it could handle this many people and went inside. He wanted to ask what had happened, but he knew not to. If it was enough to put Lan Zhan in such a state as he was, it was probably the stuff of the worst nightmares. Not to mention the state of Madame Yu’s body.

“Why don’t we go ahead and get some new clothes after this?” Lan Xichen said once they had ordered their food and sat down. “It’ll let Lan Zhan have some alone time. We can get him some as well.”

"Yeah, that... that sounds good, thank you," Wei Wuxian said. He dug into his food and remained relatively quiet. For once, he was in no mood to be chit chatting.

Back at the carriage, Lan Zhan waited for a few moments before he let himself cry. Once he let it start, it came in a full burst of sobs and hiccups. He felt stupid for crying when the Jiang family had kept a strong face. They had lost their home, their mother and wife… He just felt like he had been shredded apart and put back together with flimsy thread.

He cried until he felt numb, then he called, “Uncle?”

“I’m here,” was the reply.

Lan Zhan unlocked the door and poked his head out. “Will you go on a walk with me?” he asked.

His uncle looked at him sadly for a moment, then nodded. Lan Zhan climbed out of the carriage while Lan Qiren said to the carriage driver, “If they return before we do, tell them that we went on a walk and we will be back soon.”

They made their way across the street and walked the opposite way the others had gone. They found a little park and Lan Zhan headed that way. He sat down at a bench by a pond and watched the fish come up, thinking they were going to get fed.

“I killed someone,” he said quietly as his uncle sat next to him.

There was a moment of silence, then his uncle said, “Killing in a situation like that is not a crime.”

“It was a soldier,” Lan Zhan said. “A guard. They had put us all in a room. We were tied up. The guard was harassing Jiang Yanli so I sat in her lap and she untied my hands. I attacked the guard and he took out a knife and stabbed me and I… I took it and stabbed him in the heart.”

Lan Qiren put a hand on his back. “Lan Zhan,” he said. “You did what you had to. You were _brave.”_

Lan Zhan felt tears come back. “They did something to Wei Wuxian, uncle,” he said, his voice breaking. “They put him in the room with us and… he was snarling and he attacked Madame Yu and… _tore her throat out with his teeth.”_ He was crying now, but he couldn’t stop. “He went after Jiang Yanli a-and hurt her really badly, and I-- I attacked him. I had to--”

Lan Qiren pulled him into an embrace as he fell back into hysterics and ugly sobs.

“I kept thinking--” Lan Zhan pushed through, “I kept thinking, what if I had to kill him?”

“You didn’t,” Lan Qiren murmured.

“He went after me too… He held me down and… I thought he was going to kill me but then he started fighting whatever had been done to him. Uncle, there was blood everywhere…”

“Listen to me,” Lan Qiren said, taking Lan Zhan’s face and making him meet his eyes. “You’re not there anymore. It’s over. You’re safe, Wei Wuxian is safe, Jiang Yanli is safe. What you experienced was horrible, you are too young to have to go through this. But it’s over, do you understand?”

“If I hadn’t—”

“But you did,” Lan Qiren said. “There will always be what-ifs. You _cannot_ get lost in them. If there is anything that I can teach you, then let it be that. It happened the way that it did and what-ifs won’t change it. They are nothing, they are unrealities. They can do nothing but hurt your mind if you let them. It is best to smash them when they come.”

Lan Zhan squeezed out more tears and nodded, trying to take it to heart.

“It is okay to be shaken up,” Lan Qiren said. “I am shaken up too. All of us are.”

After Lan Xichen and the rest had eaten and bought new clothes for Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan to replace the bloody ones, they returned to find the carriage empty. It was only a few minutes later that Lan Zhan and Lan Qiren returned. Lan Zhan looked like an absolute mess, eyes red and puffy and cheeks rubbed raw, but he didn’t say anything. He just went to give Lan Zhan a hug before giving him his food.

Wei Wuxian's eyes lingered on Lan Zhan, watching as his brother approached him. He wanted to see him, talk to him as well, but he wasn't sure what to say. Against his better judgement, he dragged his feet over to him anyway and rubbed at his arms awkwardly.

"I'm sorry if I... I just... I didn't mean to snap at you earlier, I'm..." he started. He let out a soft groan. "I don't know. Everything is just... _a lot_. I know you... you cared a lot about those wedding clothes, you spent so long on them and they really were the most beautiful thing. So I just... I'm sorry. I didn't... I never wanted to upset you."

Lan Zhan still felt raw and he didn't have a lot of words, so he just set down his food and went to hug Wei Wuxian, resting his cheek on his shoulder. "It's okay," he whispered.

"Didi, we got you some clothes, go ahead and put them on in the carriage," Lan Xichen said.

"I picked something for you that I thought you'd like," Wei Wuxian said softly. He kissed the top of Lan Zhan's head and rubbed his back lightly.

Lan Zhan took the food and the bag from Lan Xichen and went into the carriage, motioning for Wei Wuxian to come with him. He went ahead and ate the food as quickly as he could and then got out the clothes. He was happy to see they'd given him underwear too, since wearing the same for days in a row was uncomfortable.

"These are soft," he said as he changed. Wei Wuxian knew how he only liked to wear the softest clothes. "Thank you."

Wei Wuxian smiled a little and nodded. There was nothing that delighted him more than seeing his omega pleased. That was his duty as an alpha after all.

Once he was changed, Lan Zhan climbed into Wei Wuxian's lap and called the others in. The omega girls were going to ride in the other carriage, so Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren came in to take their seats. "Let's go home," Lan Zhan said.

_Home._ Wei Wuxian let out a small hum but didn't say anything else. He wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan's waist and leaned his face on his shoulder, closing his eyes and forcing himself to relax.

The trip back to Gusu was long and miserable. Word had already spread about the tragedy in Lotus Pier, and they heard about it when they stopped between travels. They decided to keep traveling and not stop at any inns, choosing instead to just switch to a different carriage service when nighttime came. Lan Zhan entertained himself by gathering plants when they stopped and then using his magic on them during the ride. It was hard to sleep, but they managed. Lan Zhan almost cried with relief when they started to ascend the mountain to get to campus.

Su Ming was waiting for them in Lan Zhan's room, much to his surprise. She jumped up with a gasp. "Lan Zhan!" she cried, running over to hug him.

Lan Zhan hugged her back with a heavy, exhausted sigh. "I'm alive," he said.

Su Ming had tears in her eyes when she pulled away. "I brought your rabbits back from where you boarded them," she said. "Have you seen your mother yet?"

Lan Zhan nodded. She had been in hysterics. "I'm tired," he said, triggering a yawn.

Su Ming caught the drift. "Okay," she said. "Come see me sometime, okay?" She smiled at Wei Wuxian and went to hug him as well. "I'm so glad you're okay too."

_Am I?_ Wei Wuxian thought inwardly. Even so, he hugged Su Ming back and put on his best smile for her. "It'll take more than that to get rid of me. Unfortunately so for my dear Lan Zhan, has to put up with me for many more years," he said lightly.

Once Su Ming had left, Lan Zhan immediately went to draw himself a bath. He hadn't had one in a long time -- washing off blood in the creek wasn't exactly a bath -- and he felt disgusting. "Come bathe with me," he told Wei Wuxian.

"Gladly," Wei Wuxian replied. Once the water had run, he helped himself into the bath with Lan Zhan. He sighed as soon as the water touched his skin and he closed his eyes.

Lan Zhan scooted closer to Wei Wuxian. He had spent nearly every moment with his mate for the past week but he needed the comfort. He took the soap and started to wash himself. "How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"To tell you the truth Lan Zhan, I don't know," Wei Wuxian replied. He wanted to be honest with him but he wasn't sure if he even knew the words to explain what was going on in his head.

Lan Zhan nodded. “I don’t think anyone would be okay after what they did to you,” he whispered. “Not for a long time.”

"You know... You know how when you drink alcohol, sometimes you drink so much that you don't remember what you did?" Wei Wuxian tried. He took a deep breath. "It's... It's a bit like that, except I know what I did. I _saw_ what I did, I just don't... I just don't remember doing it..." He swallowed roughly. "How do you live with yourself after something like that? To think I was capable of such a thing and... it could've gone on for longer. I could've killed jiejie, I could've killed _you._ "

“Anyone is capable of anything,” Lan Zhan said. “If I had held on to your neck for less than thirty more seconds you would have died. I remember thinking about whether I was willing to do that. I had just killed a human being not even minutes before and it would have been so _easy_. I know it’s not the same but... Uncle told me not to think about what-ifs. What happened happened. What if they had done that to me? What if they had done it to both of us and watched us kill each other? I—“ he cut himself off, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Sorry,” he whispered.

Wei Wuxian shook his head. He cupped Lan Zhan's cheeks in his palms and brought their foreheads together. "You don't have to apologise. We shouldn't, should we?" he said shakily. "We should... be glad that wasn't what happened. We're here, we're alive, we're safe..."

Lan Zhan nodded. “They can’t attack us here,” he said. He reached up and put his hand over Wei Wuxian’s, closing his eyes.

"So many people died though... I saw it happen. I was attacked while you were in the back and I killed... I killed so many people with a sane mind, on my blade. There was nothing else I could do," Wei Wuxian continued. "I lost... I lost my home once before. My birth parents... The Jiangs did me a kindness by taking me in and to see them all be killed as well... It's like I bring misfortune to everyone I know. If you hadn't come to Lotus Pier with me, to marry me, this would've never happened to you either. The fact that you saw me do... _unimaginable_ things and you're still here with me, I..."

Lan Zhan shook his head. “The Wens would have attacked Lotus Pier no matter what,” he said. “If I hadn’t come to Lotus Pier then I would have lost you and all of your family too. And if I had never met you in the first place then I would just be miserable by myself like I used to be. Let’s leave the what-ifs to whatever world they belong to.”

"I love you. I love you _so_ much. I'm... I wish we could've have the wedding we wanted to have. We'll get the chance. I don't know when, we've... got to make the clothes again but... we'll have it. I promise," Wei Wuxian whispered.

Lan Zhan nodded. “We can have one here,” he said. “It will be okay.” He tilted his head up to kiss him.

Wei Wuxian was happy to kiss back. A few tears slipped out as he kissed him, enjoying the softness of his lips and his sweet scent.

When they parted, Lan Zhan rested his cheek on Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. If anything good could be said about what happened, it taught Lan Zhan how to be grateful for the little things.


	57. Farm Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The farm boys find love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you aren't interested in reading about the farm boys (no judgement), then after the first 4 paragraphs just skip the rest of the chapter.

Things were uneasy after what happened at Lotus Pier. Lan Xia had enlisted the help of a few independent warriors from a group called the Companions, and had sent notices to every alum of the university that could be found. Classes continued as they were, but more students signed up for battle magic than before. There were also many students who took non-magic combat classes, such as martial arts and swordsmanship.

After much deliberation, Lan Zhan decided to study ice offense. He would have to put all of his research to the side while he did, but he needed something practical. There was no telling how long it would take for him to learn how to use life magic in a way that was useful in a war.

As many alumni returned to the university to offer their services, they started to fill up any rooms that were not already taken. They filled up the alpha dorms first, then moved all of the omega women into Lan Zhan’s building. It was weird having people in his building for once. The alumni spent their time teaching and going out into the surrounding areas to do various work. Lan Zhan enjoyed listening to them talk about their experiences out in the world.

The collar around Wei Wuxian’s neck proved nearly impossible to break. The enchantment professor took a look at it and said that it was probably some sort of neutralization magic, which was worrying. It wasn’t possible for them to break the enchantment, so instead they had some of the more questionable alumni flex their lockpicking skills until they got it unlocked. Of course, that would only work until the Wens decided to use magic to lock it instead… Lan Zhan hoped they only had a limited number of those collars.

Meanwhile, once Shi Taibai and Jiang Shisong got back to the farm in Gusu, Shi Taibai was excited about showing his new friend around. "Come on around back, I'll show you the animals," he said, taking him by the hand. The rabbit and chicken hutches were the closest, so he took him there first.

"Your farm is a lot bigger than mine was," Jiang Shisong said with a hum. He squeezed Shi Taibai's hand as he was dragged along, looking around to take in all the sights around him.

"It's a beauty," Shi Taibai said. "Come on, it's around time to bring in the sheep. I want to show you the dogs at work."

They approached the sheep pasture and Shi Taibai called out, "Mama!"

Shi Qianmu turned and her eyes widened. "You're back sooner than I thought," she said as she approached, the year-old puppies following. She squinted at Jiang Shisong. "You made a friend?"

"I did," Shi Taibai said proudly. "This is Jiang Shisong. He's gonna be staying with us. I was thinking maybe we could hire him as a farmhand."

Shi Qianmu looked skeptically at them, then down at their joined hands. She spit out the piece of grass she had in her mouth and nodded to him. "Nice to meet you, Jiang Shisong. I'm Shi Qianmu, I'm his father and the owner of this farm."

Jiang Shisong bowed politely to Shi Qianmu. "Nice to meet you too," he said. "I used to run the farm in... in Lotus Pier, for er- Young Master Wei... Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan's mate? But I have since been put out of work and your son was so kind as to offer me a place to stay with you, if that's okay."

Shi Qianmu nodded. "If you can work, we'd love to have you," she said. "Wei Wuxian, huh... that's the kid who's afraid of puppies?"

"Mama..." Shi Taibai protested. Shi Qianmu laughed. "I'm just messing with you. Come on, I'll show you how this works. You ever done sheep before?"

"My father had them before I took over the farm so I know a little about how it works. They never coped too well with the heat up in Yunmeng," Jiang Shisong replied.

"I bet," Shi Qianmu said. She whistled and a bright-eyed dog came running. She whistled again, and the dog went into the field to gather the sheep. "We've got someone in the guest room right now," she said. "You don't mind sleeping in the barn, do you?"

"Mama," Shi Taibai complained. "That's just mean. Who's here?"

"My sister," Shi Qianmu said. "Make sure you say hi to her when you go in the house."

"It's okay, I don't mind. I only lived in a small shack when I stayed with the Jiangs," Jiang Shisong said. "Does the roof open up at all? I'd like to see the stars."

"It doesn't, but we've got a balcony on the hayloft, you can open up the doors and go out there," Shi Qianmu said.

"They kick me out of the house too when we have a lot of guests," Shi Taibai said. "It's not too bad. We have a mattress to bring out there."

Jiang Shisong nodded. "It'll be okay. Just having a place to stay is more than enough, thank you for your hospitality."

For the first week, Jiang Shisong was toted around the farm and shown how to do everything, from caring for the rabbits to the bee houses. After that he started officially working. He slept in the barn, and every night Shi Taibai would go out there with a book and they'd read together and talk.

Shi Taibai didn't really know what was going on with the butterflies in his stomach that would pop up out of nowhere around the other man. It reminded him of how nervous he used to get around Lan Zhan. Every time Jiang Shisong complimented him or talked about how nice it was to spend time together, Shi Taibai's heart raced. It was confusing. He had an inkling of an idea of what it might be, but it just didn't make sense.

Tonight they had been laying out on the balcony like they always did, though they couldn't stargaze since clouds covered the sky. Shi Taibai was reading when he felt a drop hit his forehead. He looked up in confusion and another one hit him in the eye. "Ow," he complained. "Shit, it's gonna rain. We should take the mattress back inside."

Jiang Shisong looked up at the sky and nodded. "You grab one end, I'll grab the other." Between the two of them, they managed to carry the mattress back indoors and huddled up behind the haystacks. It was then that they heard the rain start pouring down and rattling against the roof. "Lucky. We narrowly missed getting soaked," Jiang Shisong said with a light laugh.

Shi Taibai chuckled. "Lucky indeed," he said. "I guess I'll be stuck out here until it clears up." He didn't sound at all regretful about that.

"You didn't get too wet or anything, did you?" Jiang Shisong asked. He casually brushed his hand over Shi Taibai's chest to see if it was damp at all.

There were those butterflies again. Shi Taibai looked at him fondly and smiled a little. "No... I'm just fine," he said. _He might not be as pretty as Lan Zhan, but I think he's just fine too,_ he found himself thinking.

Jiang Shisong let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He leaned against Shi Taibai without a second thought and stared up at the roof. "Good, good... Wow, it's really coming down, huh? There's no way you can go out in that," he said.

"It's already pretty late," Shi Taibai said. "I might have to stay the night here. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"There's room on the mattress for two," Jiang Shisong replied. He turned his head to look at Shi Taibai. "It's no bother. Might be a bit warmer with two bodies."

"Yeah..." Shi Taibai trailed off.

He wasn't sure _when_ exactly he made the decision he was about to make. He found himself staring fondly at Jiang Shisong, then he turned his body a little to face him. His mind was completely empty as he leaned in, focused on nothing but how soft the other's lips looked. He closed the distance in one motion, pressing a soft kiss to those lips. His heart skipped a beat and his body went cold as he realized what he'd done. He forced out a breath as he moved away and covered his mouth, eyes wide. "I'm so sorry-- I--..."

Jiang Shisong blinked owlishly as his mind reeled through what had just happened. He'd never been _kissed_ before, but he did know that he definitely wanted to do it again. Truthfully, he'd pushed away all lingering feelings about Shi Taibai to the back of his mind when he could. He was his friend and he didn't want to sour that with...

Well. What did it matter now?

"Oh. I... Wait. Was it... Was it a mistake or..." he said, reaching for Shi Taibai's cheeks before he could stop himself. "Can I do it too?"

Shi Taibai was breathless, like he had just run a stretch. He let Jiang Shisong pull him back, his eyes wide with surprise. He nervously licked his lips, then nodded. Gods, would his heart slow down?

"Okay," Jiang Shisong whispered. He closed the gap between them and kissed his lips. Since he'd never really done this before, he wasn't sure what he was doing exactly, just going with whatever felt right.

Shi Taibai felt awkward and nervous, but he didn't want to move away. Then he _had_ to pull away after a few moments to take shaky breaths. He looked at Jiang Shisong and swallowed. "I know that we're both alphas and-- and... well, you know what people say about that, but..." He swallowed again. "I _like_ you, Shisong..."

"I like you too... I was... I was worried about our friendship, I didn't want to weird you out or something but I liked... I liked being with you so much and I just want to be close and... Well, I don't care what people have to say about it," Jiang Shisong replied.

Shi Taibai let out another shaky breath and smiled. "Then I don't either," he said. He leaned in to kiss him again, much less nervous this time.

Jiang Shisong was happy to kiss back. He wrapped his arms around Shi Taibai's neck and happily allowed him to deepen the kiss as he wished. Everything about this felt _right._ He wanted to stay in Shi Taibai's arms.

They kissed like that for a little while, just enjoying the sensations and emotions. Then at some point Jiang Shisong lay down and Shi Taibai followed him, sliding a leg over him and settling on top so he could keep kissing him. He kept thinking _if he were an omega I might..._ but that didn't matter, did it? Jiang Shisong could be his omega, and he could be Jiang Shisong's in return, as nonsensical as that sounded.

Jiang Shisong wasn't sure if he should have been worried about how comfortable he felt laying there under Shi Taibai. It just felt natural, like anything else in the world. As they kissed, he ran his hands down Shi Taibai's shoulders and then down his chest.

Shi Taibai pulled away for a second to admire how cute Jiang Shisong looked, all messed up like he was with swollen lips and hair coming out of its bun. He kissed the corner of his mouth and then decided to kiss down to his ear. He continued down his neck until he got to where his scent was the strongest. He smelled so much like an alpha and Shi Taibai should have been repelled by it, but he took in a deep breath and nuzzled against that spot.

"You know... after hearing you talk about Lan Zhan, I never thought that this would happen but I'm glad it did," Jiang Shisong said. He leaned his head back with a soft noise and let out a submissive scent.

Shi Taibai let out a low hum of satisfaction. "I never thought it would either," he said with a quiet laugh. "Never had any thoughts about other alphas. Not until you." He started to suck on that spot, craving more of that submissive scent.

Jiang Shisong let out a gasp and sure enough, more of that sweeter submissive scent started coming out. "Me neither..." he said.

Shi Taibai reached up to slide his hand into Jiang Shisong's hair and take it loose from its updo. He scooted down a little so he could pay attention to his collarbones, but then he ended up sitting on the semi-hardness in Jiang Shisong's pants. He didn't react other than to let off of it a little and look up at him, gauging his reaction.

Jiang Shisong just looked like a cat caught in the cream. His face turned a stark red when he realised that Shi Taibai could feel the physical reaction he'd had to all the touching. "I... um... It felt nice," he said.

Encouraged, Shi Taibai sat up and moved so he could settle between Jiang Shisong's legs. He lowered himself back down on his elbows and kissed the underside of his jaw, letting their hips meet. He was just as hard, if not moreso. "It does feel nice," he agreed.

"Oh," Jiang Shisong breathed when be felt another erection against his own. At least he wasn't the only one with an embarrassing boner through all of this. He canted his hips up slightly so that they rocked together, making him rasp a startling moan. "Oh Gods, it was me that made that noise wasn't it?"

Shi Taibai heaved a laugh. "You're adorable," he said. He settled himself and started to experimentally move his hips forward and back, delighted in how it felt. "You doing okay?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Jiang Shisong said a bit too enthusiastically. He gave him an embarrassed smile. "Yeah. I'm okay. I'm more than okay actually, I'm... I'm fantastic."

"Good," Shi Taibai murmured, leaning down to kiss him again. He continued like that for a little while, slowly dragging his hips, until it was too much for him to resist. He reached down and untied both of their pants, watching closely for his reaction.

"You can touch if you want. The mattress smells like you sometimes and I wake up in the morning with a... oh what am I saying? Let me just, um..." Jiang Shisong couldn't help but get even more flustered the more he talked. He reached down between them and slipped his fingers in Shi Taibai's pants to gently tug out his cock.

Shi Taibai bit his lip through a smile and sucked in a breath through his nose. Jiang Shisong really was too cute. He looked down at what the other was doing to him and he reached into his pants and did the same back to him. He had never touched someone like this before, or _been_ touched. It felt _good._ He started to suck on that spot on his neck again, completely unaware that it would make a mark that would last for the next day. He started moving his hand, slow at first, just exploring.

Jiang Shisong matched Shi Taibai's pace, little gasps and moans slipping out of his lips when he was touched. It was not too unlike touching his own cock, something he was well practiced at, but it was strange to know that he was the one drawing these reactions out of Shi Taibai.

They continued like that until Shi Taibai shuddered and went still with a groan. The orgasm was intense, moreso than what he was used to. It was probably because it was Jiang Shisong's hand on him instead of his own. Once he recovered, he remembered that he had to keep going and he started pumping the other's cock more seriously.

It didn't take Jiang Shisong long to follow. He came explosively in his hand, gasping and writhing under him as his eyelashes fluttered. It _was_ different to when he came by his own hand but it was a welcome sort of change. "Wow..." he whispered.

Shi Taibai planted kisses along Jiang Shisong's neck, wiping his hand off on his pants. "I think I might stay here more often," he said.

"Yeah, I'd... I'd like that," Jiang Shisong replied. He smiled at Shi Taibai, tilting his head to one side obediently to let him kiss more.

Probably for the first time, Shi Taibai was grateful that Lan Zhan rejected him and mated with Wei Wuxian instead. It had led him to meet Jiang Shisong and bring him home, and honestly, that was more than he could ask for.


	58. Wedding

July went by quickly. Lan Zhan threw himself into his studies and spent his free time working in the greenhouse and sewing. It didn’t take long to recreate their wedding robes, especially with the help of the omega girls. Once August came around, they were ready to be worn. They had decided to have a wedding on campus, on a weekend. The place was already packed with the alumni and students combined, so it was bound to be a big one. The city and towns donated food and Emperor’s Smile (the only time alcohol would be allowed on campus) as thanks for the help the school gave to them every winter.

Lan Zhan’s room was _full_ of excited omegas that morning. Wei Wuxian was kicked out and the omegas came running inside squealing. They stripped his bed and brought up ladders and hung red and gold tapestries all over his walls, put red silk sheets on his bed, even sprinkled rose petals over it. They hung strings of red paper lanterns across his ceiling, and instead of candles put charms similar to those that were used on candles to light them with a simple spell, but with magelights instead of fire. It was an expensive kind of lighting system, and Lan Zhan didn’t want to think of who was paying for it.

In just a few hours, his room had turned from plain to luxurious, with barely any of the stone wall visible under the tapestries and curtains, and the ceiling alight with beautiful lanterns. Even his nest had been upturned, but he had been the one to orchestrate it, not willing to let other omegas design his nest for him. They placed red silk sheets on the bottom and placed red silk pillows in there to replace the stuffed animals, though Lan Zhan had brought some of his stuffed animals back after a while since it didn’t feel right without them. He went through all of his plants and changed the colors on the flowers to a vibrant red to match the rest of the room. Some of the omegas had even hung little miniature lanterns on his plants to make them glow. It truly looked like something fit for royalty.

Once it was time to prepare for the wedding, they let Lan Zhan change into the undergarments himself and then they made him stand in the center of the room while they dressed him the rest of the way in the beautiful robes he had designed. They styled his hair in a complicated updo that intertwined with ornaments of all kinds, including flowers that he had grown himself. They applied his makeup before finally letting his mother come and attach his veil.

She looked happy enough to cry. He knew that she had been shedding tears throughout the morning, though she did her best to hide it. “I always hoped I would have an omega child to give this to,” she said, looking down at the sheer red fabric. “And as terrible as it has been lately, I am happy that my child could have a wedding that was happier than mine.” She attached the veil to the ornaments in his hair, then ran her hands over it once. “I’m so happy for you, baby,” she whispered, giving him a hug.

Lan Zhan returned it, careful not to touch the makeup. “Thank you,” he said softly.

She stood back and smiled at him. “Are you ready?” she asked Lan Zhan nodded. He had been ready for a long, long time.

By the time the wedding came around, Wei Wuxian was finally starting to feel like himself again. How could he not be over the moon on his wedding day? He was finally getting to marry the love of his life and by his side he had Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin, and Jiang Fengmian. They were all safe and alive and that was what mattered.

Wei Wuxian just about melted the first time he saw Lan Zhan. His wedding outfit had been kept secret from him for all this time and now he finally got to see him in all his beauty. He felt his heart pound in his chest and he couldn’t hold back the big smile on his face. This was more than he ever could’ve hoped for. Truly, he was the luckiest man in the world.

Once the ceremony began, Wei Wuxian was the first to kneel and pour tea for each member of Lan Zhan’s family – paying his respects to Lan Xia, Lan Qingheng, Lan Xichen, and Lan Qiren. It took everything in Wei Wuxian’s power not to cry as he watched Lan Zhan do the same before his own family. This was their union, the joining of their families. They were going to be one.

The final part of the ceremony had them bowing three times. First, towards the gates, the heavens and Earth. Second, to their families. Thirdly, to each other. Wei Wuxian’s fingers were trembling as they reached up to remove Lan Zhan’s veil. Gods, he was even more breath-taking up close like this. The makeup complimented his complexion nicely, his lips with the slightest bit of rouge making them look extra kissable… Wei Wuxian felt like he was falling in love all over again. He leaned in to kiss him, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist and pulling him close to his body as the omegas whooped and cheered for them.

They were married. Husbands. There was nothing else he could’ve possibly wanted more.

“Do you want to stay for the festivities or join them later? So, you know, I can whisk you away for a little while?” Wei Wuxian whispered in his ear when they parted.

Lan Zhan considered, looking around. being stolen away for a while sounded nice, but he had heard there would be desserts galore. “Let’s stay,” he said quietly. “Once I get you alone I won’t want to come out.”

Wei Wuxian couldn't help but grin. He leaned in to give him another kiss and then took him by the hand. "Alright."

And it was good that they chose to stay, since it turned out that there was more than food and wine and desserts. Some of the alumni had planned something big, and after Lan Zhan had gathered a plate of food they were ushered into the cafeteria which had been cleared of all the tables and the chairs were aligned to face the back. It was some kind of light show, with a small group of musicians to accompany it. It was magnificent, and it didn’t just stay at the little stage area they had cleared; giant glowing dragons flew around the room and collided into explosions of sparkles. Lan Zhan especially liked the little glowing mist-like animals that bounced from here to there. After the show, they returned to the main hall where the musicians picked up more songs. Lan Zhan made his way through the dancing people so he could get some more snacks.

Wei Wuxian was enjoying all the festivities, it was nice to actually celebrate something for once instead of all the usual doom and gloom. There was still the pressing issue of the Wens of course, but for the moment, he wanted to forget about that and enjoy this happy time.

He stole a snack right out of Lan Zhan's hands with a grin. "Get used to this," he said before popping it in his mouth.

Lan Zhan pretended to be scandalized, gasping softly. He took another snack and turned the other way, shielding it from his thief of a husband.

_Husband._

A quiet purr rumbled in his chest. He felt an overwhelming sense of relief and security. They were finally married.

A little later in the party, Lan Zhan heard gasps behind him and he turned just in time to catch his brother catapulting into him.

“Didi!!!” Lan Xichen cried at the top of his lungs.

“Xichen-ge?” Lan Zhan asked, alarmed. Lan Xichen pulled away and planted his hands on Lan Zhan’s cheeks. “You’re so beautiful today, a little bride! I can’t believe my baby brother is married now!!!”

People were staring all over the room. Lan Xichen was practically yelling, even though he was right in front of Lan Zhan. “Are you drunk?” Lan Zhan asked.

Lan Xichen’s smile faded and he looked into the distance. “Am I?” he asked. He didn’t ponder over it for too long, since he let go of Lan Zhan and pounced on his next victim. “Young Master Wei,” he wailed, hanging off Wei Wuxian’s arm. “You have to take care of my baby brother, okay? Promise me!”

This was quite possibly one of the funniest things that Wei Wuxian had ever seen. He snorted with laughter at the sight of a very drunk Lan Xichen (the tolerance probably ran in the family) and pat the poor man on the back. "I will Xichen-ge. I will," he said.

“You better!” Lan Xichen cried. “I’m trusting you!”

“Lan Xichen--” came a deep voice.

Lan Xichen gasped loudly and let go of Wei Wuxian. “Nie Mingjue!” he cried, running over to the massive man who had walked up.

Lan Zhan watched curiously as his brother attached himself to this alpha. Who even _was_ this?

Lan Xichen turned to them. “Hey, look over here! This is my new friend Nie Mingjue. He’s a warrior in the Companions. Isn’t he a hunk?” He slapped Nie Mingjue’s chest, making the man laugh out loud.

Wei Wuxian shifted his gaze back and forth between Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen. "You two seem very friendly already," he said with a slight smirk.

“What can I say? I’m a friendly guy,” Nie Mingjue said. “Didn’t think I’d end up babysitting this one, though.”

Lan Xichen pretended that he didn’t hear that. He looked around and then started to trot over to the musician’s area and picked up a xiao that most definitely didn’t belong to him.

“I think I’ve seen enough,” Lan Zhan said. “Let me get some food to take back to the room.”

"Sounds good to me," Wei Wuxian replied. "Grab as much as you can and I'll carry you."

Lan Zhan went over to the food tables and decided to take one of the big display plates with him. He was the 'bride' as Lan Xichen had said, after all. He could do whatever he wanted. There were only a few little cakes left on the plate and he left them there, intending to eat them later. He filled the rest of the plate up with more food, most of which were desserts, and some other things as well. Once he had gotten enough, he carried the plate with both arms over to Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian then scooped Lan Zhan up carefully into his arms, bridal style, as was fitting for the moment. He carried him back to his room.

It was a feat, given the four flights he had to climb. Lan Zhan had pulled is veil back over his face to hide from the cheers that had followed them out of the building. He felt like he was blushing from head to toe.

He couldn't wait to see what Wei Wuxian thought of their room. His mother had told him earlier that the tapestries and curtains and red silk sheets had come from their own storage, but the lanterns and other decorations had been donated by the city. He also couldn't wait to see what it looked like at nighttime. With the daylight coming in through the window, the red light was diminished somewhat. But now that the strings of red lanterns hanging from the ceiling and the candles on the wall were the only sources of light... it was sure to look magical.

Wei Wuxian opened the door to Lan Zhan's room and almost dropped him at the sight of the room. It was... nothing short of beautiful. Had Lan Zhan done this? Had the omegas who had helped him get ready? Either way, it was incredible. "Wow," he said as he slowly lowered Lan Zhan to his feet.

Lan Zhan toed off his shoes and went across the room to sit the plate down by his nest. The room _did_ look magical. Everything was bathed in a lovely orange-red color, and brightened by yellow lanterns that must have been added after he left. He also noticed that someone had put strings of lights inside his nest, under the red cloth that covered it. They were the miniature lanterns that had also been hung on his plants, and they were attached to the beams that connected at the top of the nest. It made the nest look like a little cozy den from the outside, hidden by the red cloth.

Wei Wuxian took off his shoes as well and took the opportunity to sit in Lan Zhan's nest. He was welcome here now, as his mate, as his _husband._ He looked up at Lan Zhan expectantly.

Lan Zhan climbed inside as well and finally detached the veil that hid his face. He set it outside and then sat down and looked around his nest. It looked so different than normal, it was almost like a completely different place. It only barely smelled like him too, since everything had been replaced with other material. “I think I will keep it this way until November when I have my next heat,” he said. “I like the red.”

"It looks nice," Wei Wuxian said with a hum. He opened his arms wide, gesturing for Lan Zhan to come crawl into his lap.

Lan Zhan happily complied. He lifted his robes and plopped down into Wei Wuxian’s lap. “Hello, husband,” he whispered playfully.

"Mmm I would love to tell the past you, the one who kicked me out for only wanting to make out, that you'd be sat in my lap calling me husband someday," Wei Wuxian said. He put his hands on Lan Zhan's waist. "But I'm happy."

Lan Zhan smiled. “I wish I could too,” he said. “Maybe it would have convinced me.” He ran his hands over Wei Wuxian’s chest, admiring the robes he had made for him. “We’re married.”

"We're very married. A few months late unfortunately but married nonetheless," Wei Wuxian said. He leaned in to kiss Lan Zhan passionately.

Lan Zhan turned so he could sit with his knees on either side of Wei Wuxian. He kissed back lovingly and pulled away to admire the rouge that had gotten all over Wei Wuxian’s lips. “You look good with rouge,” he said.

"Maybe you'll have to dress me up with makeup sometime," Wei Wuxian teased back with a smirk pulling on his lips.

“Mmm I will...” Lan Zhan went back to kissing him, his hands running up to bury in his hair. When he pulled away to breathe he whispered, “I wonder how many alphas are thinking about this and being jealous.”

"Jealous that I have the most gorgeous omega in the world in my lap? That I've married him and I'm sat in his nest, about to make love to him?" Wei Wuxian prompted.

Lan Zhan smiled wide, feeling giddy with how Wei Wuxian said it. "Are you now?" he asked. "I think that's exactly what they're thinking about."

"Oh very much so," Wei Wuxian replied. He grinned at him before throwing him down onto his back and leaning down to start kissing down his neck.

Lan Zhan stifled a giggle and wiggled under Wei Wuxian. "So how will you treat your new wife?" he asked. Or was it husband? He wasn't sure which he would rather; he kind of liked both. He _was_ a husband, but he felt like a wife too. Curiously he whispered, "Wusband..."

That made Wei Wuxian laugh against his neck. "Wusband..." he repeated breathlessly. He pulled back to smile at him. "I think I'm going to start by getting under all these layers." He shucked up all the fabric to Lan Zhan's hips and dipped between his legs to mouth at his cock through the fabric of his underwear.

Lan Zhan let his legs fall to the sides. He still felt so giddy and excited and he couldn't help but wiggle some more and tug at Wei Wuxian's hair as he hardened under that mischievous mouth of his.

Wei Wuxian let his teeth latch onto the hem of the underwear and he slowly started to drag it down his legs. "What would you prefer then, my sweet wife? Do you want me to suck your cock or eat your pussy out?" he asked.

Lan Zhan helped get his underwear off while he thought. "Eat me out first," he said. "Then you can give that job to something else."

Wei Wuxian smiled up at him for a moment before he dove in. He lifted one of Lan Zhan's legs up to better spread him and then drew his tongue along the little, wet slit before him.

Lan Zhan's eyes fluttered shut. There was something extra sensual about doing this in his wedding robes. It had a sentimental meaning to it, as well as hitting the spot with his kink of alphas desiring him. There was no way that at least a few hadn't watched Wei Wuxian carry him away and felt a pang of jealousy. There were alphas probably thinking about him right in that moment... was that conceited of him? Probably.

And Wei Wuxian was happy to serve. He flicked his tongue against him a few more times before he spread him open so he could dip his tongue inside that velvet heat.

Lan Zhan rolled his hips up, tugging on Wei Wuxian's hair again. After a moment he let go with one hand so he could tease his cock at the same time. "I have a wonderful husband," he said softly.

Wei Wuxian hummed in response, letting Lan Zhan enjoy the vibrations that came with it. He continued to eat him out with enthusiasm, licking every part of him he could get to.

After a little while, Lan Zhan grew impatient. He made a quiet noise and shifted around. "Wei Wuxian..." he mumbled.

"What is it, my wife?" Wei Wuxian asked after pulling away from him and licking his lips. An omega's slick always tasted so sweet.

Lan Zhan liked being called that. It was fun, almost like an inside joke. Feeling silly, he answered, "Your wusband needs you to..."

"To what?" Wei Wuxian kept prompting. His own cock was already hard, just at the taste of him, at hearing him.

Lan Zhan pouted when he didn't get a reaction from that. "You should put something else in there," he said. "Something bigger."

Wei Wuxian hummed. He was fine with playing this game. So, he pushed his finger up against that entrance, rubbing through the slick, before thrusting it inside. "Like this?" he said.

Lan Zhan huffed in frustration, though he still smiled a little. It was kind of fun... "Bigger," he said.

That made Wei Wuxian add a second finger. "Then this?" he asked. "You're going to have to be more specific."

Lan Zhan thought that two fingers was okay actually. It was enough to stretch him a little. "That's good," he said. He started to move his hand over his cock again.

Wei Wuxian chuckled a little and then started to move those two fingers. He thrust them in and out of him, making obscene noises.

Lan Zhan lifted and spread his legs as much as he could. He pumped his cock until he came into his hand, not a sound leaving him. Still energized, he let his legs relax but then used his foot to tease the bulge under Wei Wuxian's robes.

"Fuck," Wei Wuxian muttered under his breath. He pulled his fingers out, unable to wait any longer, and moved to unsheathe his cock.

Lan Zhan shifted around eagerly and lifted his legs again and hooked his arms under them to hold himself open. "Are you going to mate with me?" he asked with a hint of teasing in his tone.

"Yes," Wei Wuxian answered almost too quickly. He leaned over him, putting his hands either side of his head after he lined up with his entrance. Carefully, he started to ease inside him.

Lan Zhan bit his lip and pulled in a breath through his nose. It sent sparks up his spine, a pleasant tingly feeling inside him. He loved being stretched open by Wei Wuxian's cock...

Wei Wuxian cupped Lan Zhan's cheek as he sank all the way inside him. He moved in to kiss over his face and his lips. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," Lan Zhan whispered back to him. He kept holding onto his legs and returned the kisses whenever he could. "Touch me?"

"Anything for you," Wei Wuxian replied. He slid his hand down from his cheek to find Lan Zhan's cock. His fingers wrapped around the shaft and he stroked it steadily in tandem with his thrusts.

Lan Zhan breathed out in relief. He closed his eyes and let himself get lost in the pleasure, arching his back and pushing into Wei Wuxian. "Claim me," he moaned. His hard claim had already faded by now, but they had replaced it with soft claims since. They hadn't done so since before everything happened at Lotus Pier, though.

"Hard or soft?" Wei Wuxian breathed out in response. He squeezed the head of Lan Zhan's cock and picked up the pace a little.

"Medium," Lan Zhan said, his voice rough and wavering. "Not enough to bleed but make it look nice and dark."

Of course Lan Zhan would say something like that. Wei Wuxian found it hard not to laugh. He distracted himself by digging his teeth in to the crook of Lan Zhan's neck and kept them there until just before he would've tasted the tang of blood.

Lan Zhan moaned both from the pain and the pleasure of it. His body shook and tensed up, and once Wei Wuxian let go he breathed heavily. He loved that feeling, there was something about the pain of a bite in that part of his body that turned him on. It was enough that, shortly after he let go, Lan Zhan came into Wei Wuxian's hand with an undignified squeak.

Feeling Lan Zhan cum around him was always enough to bring him close to the edge. Wei Wuxian peaked soon after, moaning in his ear as he came and spilt inside of Lan Zhan. His knot expanded rapidly.

Lan Zhan whimpered between heavy breaths as the knot filled him up. It pushed his limits, forcing him to stretch and accept the new girth. He let go of his legs and reached up to grip Wei Wuxian's arms instead.

"I want you to claim me as well," Wei Wuxian said as he flopped on top of Lan Zhan, panting a little. He nuzzled against Lan Zhan's claim, inhaling the mixture of their scents.

Lan Zhan hummed happily. "Do you want me to do it now or while I do you?" he asked, reaching under Wei Wuxian's collar to rub at the spot.

Wei Wuxian's breath hitched. He hadn't considered the latter but the idea of being fucked and claimed by his new husband... "While you do me," he mumbled.

Lan Zhan smiled. "I would love to," he said. "You should use the tentacles to stretch yourself open while we wait."

Lan Zhan was just full of bright ideas. Wei Wuxian pulled back a little and balanced himself. He focused his magical energy to summon a thin tentacle and met Lan Zhan's eyes as he had it rub against his own hole before dipping inside. His eyelashes fluttered and he let out a soft gasp.

Lan Zhan's eyes widened and he licked his lips. He wished he could see what was going on, but watching Wei Wuxian's expression was just as good. "You've never done this before, have you?" he whispered.

"Fucked myself with my own tentacles? No, I hadn't really thought about it," Wei Wuxian said honestly. He wiggled a little, letting out a grumble as he eased it in a little deeper, the slick of the tentacle easing the way.

Lan Zhan watched with fascination. “I would like to see it sometime,” he said softly. “It feels good, doesn’t it?”

"Yeah... Yeah it feels really good," Wei Wuxian said. He let out another moan as he let the tentacle thicken and expand inside him to stretch him that little bit more.

Once Wei Wuxian's knot went down, Lan Zhan wiggled out from under him and got out of the nest. He picked up a chocolate dessert on his way to the sink, where he filled a bowl with hot water and grabbed a few washcloths and some soap. He set the items down outside the nest and crawled back inside, taking a moment to finish his dessert and watching Wei Wuxian pointedly while he rudely licked his fingers.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Mhmm... how do you want me?" Wei Wuxian said, letting the tentacle slip out of him a dissipate in mere moments.

"Hands and knees," Lan Zhan said. "I need to reach your neck."

"Because you're so tiny, got it," Wei Wuxian teased. He laid down amongst the blankets and put his hips in the air, wiggling them tauntingly towards Lan Zhan.

"Only a few inches shorter," Lan Zhan grumbled as he knee-walked over and pulled up his robes. Once he was behind Wei Wuxian he used one hand to touch himself and get it hard. Then he opened the little bottle of oil he'd brought and slicked it up, then set the bottle aside and guided himself inside that tight rim. It was so hot and hugged him so nicely, it made him shiver.

Wei Wuxian let out a long groan as Lan Zhan entered him. He rocked back carefully to get him deeper inside until he was fully seated. Something about them doing all of this in their wedding robes was extremely arousing. "Ah, that's good..." he breathed.

Lan Zhan leaned forward and put his hands on either side of Wei Wuxian on the bed, then he started moving. He kept it slow at first, dragging his hips back and easing back in, but after a minute he changed it to quick, short thrusts as deep as he could go. Once he felt himself getting close, he mouthed at the spot behind Wei Wuxian’s neck, where it met his shoulder. The scent was delicious, and he couldn’t stop himself from latching on with his teeth. He did the same as what Wei Wuxian did to him, biting hard and holding on for a moment. The scent poured into his mouth and that was enough to make him cum. He groaned and fucked Wei Wuxian through his orgasm, only letting go when it was finished.

Wei Wuxian moaned loudly when he was bitten. There were a lot of sensations going on at once. He reached down under himself to desperately pump his cock.

Lan Zhan sucked on the bite and kept fucking Wei Wuxian until he felt him tense up and then relax. “Did you finish?” he asked softly, pressing a kiss to the bite.

Wei Wuxian nodded breathlessly. He'd spilt into his hand with a soundless cry. All of his body thrummed with delight. "Thank you," he mumbled.

Lan Zhan pulled out and went about cleaning himself off until he was satisfied. He was still hard, but he had already cum multiple times so he didn’t feel the need to keep going. It would go down in a minute or so once he settled. He took the ornaments out of his hair and then let it hang loose before he lay down and pulled a stuffed animal over.

“I’m happy,” he said.

"Me too. I love you so much and I'm so happy that we're married, even if it was a bit delayed," Wei Wuxian said with a sigh. He rolled over to wrap his arms around Lan Zhan and nuzzle up to him.

Lan Zhan nuzzled back and cuddled closer to him with a contented sigh. He had no idea what was going to happen in the future, but if he could keep Wei Wuxian by his side then he would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wwx had looked at the most cold, hateful-looking omega in the school and said "is anyone gonna marry that" and didnt wait for an answer


	59. Lan Daddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jiang Fengmian accepts Lan Qingheng's offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skip all of this chapter if you don't want to read about wangxian's dads getting dirty. I won't judge. 
> 
> (it is hot tho....)

After the wedding, Lan Qingheng left once again with Jiang Fengmian by his side. He wanted to stay in the Capitol for multiple reasons, some of which were practical (the Capitol was the first place where big news dropped) and some were petty (being around his ex-wife always made him depressed). He had offered to house Jiang Fengmian indefinitely after helping him bury his late wife. There was something tragic about that man, something that made Lan Qingheng want to take care of him. It genuinely seemed like he hadn't made a real friend in many years. Lan Qingheng was more than willing to fill the gaps in his heart in whatever way was needed.

Jiang Fengmian worried daily that he was imposing on Lan Qingheng's kindness. He just wasn't ready to face up to everything that had happened, even if that's what he should've done as head of the household. But what did it matter? Everyone of any importance was dead besides Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli, and Jiang Yanli was off in LanlingJin with her fiance. His home had been burnt, this was all he had now.

"Would you perhaps like to join me for some tea?" he asked Lan Qingheng a few weeks into their cohabitation. For the most part, he'd valued his alone time lately, but he was finally starting to come out of his shell a little more.

"Of course," Lan Qingheng said happily. He set aside the book he had been reading and went to make some tea in the kitchen. While it was heating up he went ahead and started planning what he would cook the next evening for dinner. He was starting to learn what Jiang Fengmian's favorite foods were.

Once the tea was ready he brought it into the sitting room. "I haven't had this kind of tea in a while," he said. "This is nice."

Jiang Fengmian sat down across from Lan Qingheng and nodded. "It's my favourite kind, it's nice to share it with someone else," he said.

Lan Qingheng poured two cups and slid one closer to Jiang Fengmian. He went ahead and took a sip, not caring for formalities. Jiang Fengmian was a guest, but he was also more than that. "What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I worry sometimes that I am imposing on your kindness. These last few weeks have been hard, I sometimes don't know what to do with myself. As well as that, I have been... distant while I try to figure things out," Jiang Fengmian explained.

Lan Qingheng shook his head. "You are not imposing," he said. "I consider you a good friend of mine, though we haven't known each other more than a few months. What you have been through is unimaginable."

Jiang Fengmian let out a long sigh of relief and then reached for his cup of tea. "I'm glad. You have been more kind to me than I perhaps deserve but thank you nonetheless."

"You are welcome," Lan Qingheng said honestly. He brooded over his tea for a moment, then he said, "I remember the period after I left my family. Loneliness can be suffocating. I am better now than I ever have been, but I can't forget how it felt back then."

"It makes me feel a lot better to have someone else here. Of course, I am lucky that my children live on but... I could not impose on them in good conscience. They have their own lives to live. A-Xian is _married_ and A-Li will soon marry too," Jiang Fengmian said.

Lan Qingheng nodded slowly. "Your other son is headstrong," he said. "I wonder what he will do once his education has finished. It was... terribly unfortunate, what they did to him."

Jiang Fengmian took a long sip of tea before he spoke again. "I don't know. Wanyin has always been the sort to clam up. I have good feeling that A-Li and A-Xian will give me grandchildren so that's not a worry. But even so, the fact that he cannot have children now, that he... is devoid of what he once was must be so hard for him," he said.

"Indeed," Lan Qingheng said. "I think he could use some support. I wouldn't mind having him here for the winter, if that's something you would be interested in."

"Thank you," Jiang Fengmian said softly. He reached over and put his hand on Lan Qingheng's. "You have been more than considerate."

Lan Qingheng smiled and turned his hand to hold the other's. "It is my pleasure," he said.

Jiang Fengmian was surprised at his own unwillingness to let go. Holding Lan Qingheng's hand made him feel surprisingly warm inside, in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. Perhaps it was just the loneliness... "I hope someday I can repay you," he said.

Lan Qingheng let his thumb gently stroke the back of Jiang Fengmian's hand. "I don't want you to feel indebted to me," he said. "Your companionship is more than enough."

Jiang Fengmian smiled and looked down at the table, his cheeks a little pink. "If you say so."

It was times like these when Jiang Fengmian looked cute enough to eat. Lan Qingheng smiled fondly at him and used his free hand to bring the cup to his lips and take a sip.

"How did you cope? You know... after you left your wife. If you don't mind me asking," Jiang Fengmian said after a moment.

Lan Qingheng took himself back to that time. "It was difficult to adjust," he said. "I was a mercenary for a while, about a year or so. But then I decided to put my potions knowledge to use and set up a small shop towards the edge of the Capitol. It was... very lonely. I often found myself at bars at night, just so I could be around other people. I discovered that omega women weren't my only option, and I am ashamed to admit I experimented in some reckless ways. But over the years I have found some relief in seeking close relationships with other men, omega or alpha. I find joy in taking care of people, especially those that I quite like." He smiled.

Jiang Fengmian nodded slowly. He'd never considered other men as a way of seeking comfort, it definitely seemed more readily available. Would he find contentment in someone else's companionship? Gods only knew that he hadn't slept with anyone in a long time. "My late wife and I married young. It was... arranged, you see. There has not been much else," he said. "It has been a long time. Our relationship wasn't the best towards the later end of things..."

Lan Qingheng nodded. “I can imagine that mourning is all the more difficult because of that,” he said. “I understand if you were to feel guilty — I still feel guilt from my own situation — but I hope it wouldn’t keep you from healing, if you did.”

"There is a lot of guilt there but I... don't think there was any fixing our relationship," Jiang Fengmian replied. He took a deep breath and squeezed Lan Qingheng's hand.

"I understand," Lan Qingheng said. "How do you feel now? In general?"

"It's hard to say. I've been doing a lot of reflecting and... well, everything still feels pretty hollow. I don't think I'm equipped for loneliness, especially now my children are all grown up," Jiang Fengmian said, shaking his head.

"That sounds pretty normal," Lan Qingheng said. "It hasn't been long since her death. I am sure it will take a while before you feel like yourself again. And if you stay here, I'll make sure you aren't plagued by loneliness."

"Thank you. You have been unbelievably kind to me. I know your Lan Zhan has married my A-Xian but I had still been mostly a stranger," Jiang Fengmian said.

"You're less of a stranger than most of the men I've taken care of," Lan Qingheng said with a chuckle before drinking the rest of his tea. "Perhaps that is why I consider you my friend."

"Perhaps. Regardless, I am ever grateful for your kindness and support," Jiang Fengmian said. He shot Lan Qingheng a smile.

"As you've said," Lan Qingheng said, amused. "Really, Fengmian, you can stop thanking me. It is my pleasure."

"Apologies, I think that it is just in my nature. I really do mean it though," Jiang Fengmian said bashfully.

“As do I,” Lan Qingheng said.

He poured himself another cup of tea, though this one only half full. Enjoying the silence, his thoughts drifted back to their children. Lan Zhan had been in good spirits the last time Lan Qingheng had seen him, but he knew that things were weighing on him. He didn’t know all of what had happened after the burning of Lotus Pier, but whatever it was, it traumatized him. Jiang Wanyin had seemed similar, though Lan Qingheng didn’t know what he was usually like.

"... You said before that perhaps you were interested in... me," Jiang Fengmian said slowly after a while, breaking the silence.

Lan Qingheng blinked a few times, bringing himself back to the present. “I am,” he said bluntly, then softened it with, “But I understand what you are going through is difficult, and also that my tastes are not for everyone. I don’t expect anything of that nature in return for my kindness to you, in case that is what you’re worried about.”

"No, no, it's not that. The opposite in fact. I am... curious if such a relationship would be beneficial. Gods only know how long it's been since I've felt the touch of... someone else," Jiang Fengmian said.

That put butterflies in Lan Qingheng’s stomach. He hadn’t actually expected him to _accept_...

He smiled. “In that case, I am more than happy to provide,” he said. “How would you like to go about it then? I could take you around town, or we could stay here and have a drink or two... see what happens...” He tilted his head to the side.

"I'd prefer to stay inside if you don't mind. You'll have to bear with me as I've never been with a man before," Jiang Fengmian replied.

"That's okay," Lan Qingheng said. He flashed him a charming smile. "I'll make it easy."

He got up and disappeared for a moment, then returned with a bottle of wine and two cups. He poured a normal one for Jiang Fengmian, then a much smaller amount for himself. "My alcohol tolerance is frighteningly small," he said with a chuckle. "This will be all I drink tonight."

Jiang Fengmian gave a small chuckle at that. It was an amusing thought to think of Lan Qingheng losing his composure so quickly over a drop of alcohol. Dare he say it was rather... cute. He took the cup of wine and took a sip.

Lan Qingheng took a tiny sip then looked around. "I remember the first time I lay with another man," he said. "An alpha... he could tell that I was lonely and offered to keep me warm for a night. I had never considered the idea, but I was desperate for a distraction. I'm glad I accepted. It expanded my horizons considerably. Though it was a little terrifying afterwards, since I was suddenly... very aware of how others felt about such people. It took a while for me to stop caring."

"It must've been hard. I've never understood why people felt the need to say such things... if you are happy, that's what should matter," Jiang Fengmian said, twirling the cup between his fingers.

Lan Qingheng hummed. He closed his eyes and took another tiny sip. He was getting a little sleepy already, but it would pass. It just made him feel especially relaxed. When his eyes opened again, he just gazed at Jiang Fengmian and admired him for a little while. "You really are beautiful," he said. "Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?"

"Not in a very long time," Jiang Fengmian replied. He took another sip and smiled slightly. "You're rather easy on the eyes yourself."

Lan Qingheng smiled and chuckled. He leaned forward and rested his jaw on his hand. “It’s not often you find an alpha with such pretty features,” he said. “I like your cheekbones. Your lips look soft too. I’m excited. You’ll be the prettiest man I’ve ever bedded.”

"Truly? I find it hard to believe that a man such as yourself couldn't find plenty of attractive men to bed," Jiang Fengmian said.

“Oh they were attractive,” Lan Qingheng said. “For the most part. But only the omega men could hold a candle to your beauty and they weren’t as charming as you. Not that the more hard-edge alphas I’ve slept with were disappointing at all. Just a different flavor.” He took another little sip. He was almost finished with the amount he’d poured for himself. “Did you ever mess around when you were young?” he asked.

Jiang Fengmian hummed and took another long sip to ease his nerves. "I knew an omega boy when I was young. We had a brief... engagement. It never went very far before he moved away for his own arranged marriage."

“Oh that’s fun,” Lan Qingheng said. “Well I doubt this will be like anything you’ve done before. I would be surprised if so.” He finished off his wine. He was feeling less sleepy and more warm already.

"I have certainly never been with anyone without...er... certain body parts," Jiang Fengmian mumbled.

Lan Qingheng laughed. “You won’t even notice,” he said. He tapped his head. “I’ve got a plan for you tonight. We’ll keep it simple.” He stood up and brushed off his robes. “Finish your wine, I will get things prepared. Come when you’re ready.”

Jiang Fengmian downed the rest of his cup and stood up. It was now or never. If he didn't like where things went, he'd just not do it again. No harm done.

Lan Qingheng lit a single lamp in his room and brought out his oil and the prostate massager he had. It was difficult to choose whether to use that or his fingers, but the toy always felt better to him due to how it was shaped.

When Jiang Fengmian came into the room, he took him by the hand and pulled him over to the bed. But before they sat down he moved close to him and put a hand on his cheek. Jiang Fengmian really was the prettiest person he’d ever been with. Lan Qingheng admired his lips up close before he slowly moved in to kiss them. They were just as soft as he’d anticipated.

This was easy for him. Jiang Fengmian had done plenty of kissing in his life so he knew how this worked. He kissed back with a fierceness, leaning into Lan Qingheng's touch.

Lan Qingheng was pleasantly surprised by the eagerness. He hummed and let his hands roam over his body. It had been too long since he'd last felt someone else's figure... When he'd had enough, he pulled away and said, "Lie down for me."

Jiang Fengmian looked a little pensive but did as he was told. Lan Qingheng had promised pampering after all. He laid back on the bed and got comfortable, looking up at Lan Qingheng in anticipation.

Lan Qingheng crawled over him and resumed kissing him, taking his time and enjoying it. He fiddled with the sash around Jiang Fengmian's waist and untied it, then slipped his hand under his clothes to feel the hot skin underneath. He continued that way for a little while, just kissing and feeling and keeping everything above the waist. When he felt that things were ready to move on, he inched his hand down to teasingly dance over the front of Jiang Fengmian's pants.

"Oh," Jiang Fengmian breathed softly. He ran his hands along Lan Qingheng's shoulders as he slowly shifted to spread his legs slightly.

That delighted Lan Qingheng. "You're going to be a good boy for me, aren't you?" he teased as he tugged open Jiang Fengmian's pants and slipped his hand inside.

Jiang Fengmian surprised himself when a whimper slipped out. He took a deep breath and nodded, his cheeks already a bit flushed. "Yes," he breathed.

Lan Qingheng grinned. He had hoped that Jiang Fengmian would be like this. He kissed down his jaw and neck and stopped at his collarbone to give it a playful nip. He wrapped his hand around Jiang Fengmian's cock and gave it a few tugs, just letting him get used to it before he sat up and started to strip him. "You can tell me what you want anytime," he said.

Jiang Fengmian nodded again, leaning his head back against the sheets. He let himself be stripped, his cock already half-hard. "Touch me again," he said. Then added a soft: "please."

Lan Qingheng gave him a pleased hum. He wrapped his hand around it and stroked it again while he reached for the things he'd brought with him. "Bend your legs for me," he said softly.

Jiang Fengmian licked his lips idly and bent his legs as he was asked. He had some ideas about how things usually happened between two alpha men, he wasn't a fool, but he still wasn't sure what to make of everything going on.

"Good," Lan Qingheng praised. He let go and took his prostate massager and spread some oil over it, then he placed it at Jiang Fengmian's entrance. "Relax," he said before he started to slowly push it in. It was only a little bit thicker than a finger, so it didn't need any stretching prior.

Jiang Fengmian couldn't help but tense a little despite what he'd been told. Surely, anyone would have that kind of reaction when someone put something in there, right? He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as he steadied himself. Then, he slowly shifted his gaze back to Lan Qingheng. "Okay," he said.

Lan Qingheng gave him a small smile and started to move the toy further in. He put on a little pressure as he slid it in, since the way it was shaped made it especially easy to find the prostate. He rubbed it back and forth over where he thought it would be, the way he knew it felt good. Once he was confident in its placement, he scooted back a little more and bent down to take Jiang Fengmian’s cock in his mouth.

As soon as the toy touched that spot inside him, Jiang Fengmian let out a startled moan. _Oh, that felt good,_ he thought. He didn't know such a thing could feel like that, it was a strange kind of pressure but a good one nonetheless. "Oh Gods," he whispered as Lan Qingheng engulfed his cock in a wet heat. He felt like a teenager again, teetering on the edge.

Lan Qingheng maneuvered himself into a more comfortable position. With his head bobbing up and down, he sucked on Jiang Fengmian's cock and kept rubbing the toy up against his prostate. Getting to do this to someone was always pleasurable, but getting to do it with someone he had been admiring for a while was even better. He hadn't thought that he would actually get to bed Jiang Fengmian so it was a special treat. He _loved_ the shaky moans and how he yielded and obeyed so easily.

It didn't take Jiang Fengmian long to cum like that. His back arched a little as he let out another strangled moan. He fisted Lan Qingheng's hair desperately as the other hand rested in a fist across his lips. There was no getting the words out to explain what was happening, he just suddenly came in a rush. "Oh... Oh, I'm so sorry-" he started.

Lan Qingheng slowly pulled off his cock and swallowed, then licked his lips. He smiled, amused. "Sorry for what?" he asked as he moved back over Jiang Fengmian and mouthed at his collarbone again. He pulled out the prostate massager and set it down on the bed.

"I should've warned you I was going to... Ah. I guess it doesn't matter now," Jiang Fengmian said softly. He smiled a little down at Lan Qingheng and let go of his hair slowly.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I've been cum on... and in..." Lan Qingheng murmured. "No need to worry about me, baby." He left a kiss on his collarbone and then sat back up and untied his robes.

"Hmm, is that so?" Jiang Fengmian said. He couldn't help but be a little curious of Lan Qingheng's experience with other men.

Lan Qingheng chuckled. "Remember when I said I used to experiment recklessly? I had just discovered this new option and went wild, since I considered my life pretty much over after leaving my family. I may have... found myself as a literal rutslut -- there are these shady places where alpha men can go when they go into rut, no omegas allowed." While he spoke, he spread some oil between Jiang Fengmian's thighs and pressed them together. Then he took out his cock and slowly pushed it between them. "Any alpha that goes in there while not in rut is free game. The first night I went there I made five men very happy."

"You're beginning to make me think that I haven't lived very much at all," Jiang Fengmian replied. He watched as Lan Qingheng manhandled him, watched as his cock slid through the gap in his thighs. It was easily the biggest cock he'd ever seen (not that he'd seen that many in his life).

"I would offer to take you to one, but I don't think I want to share you with anyone now," Lan Qingheng said with a wink. He started to thrust between Jiang Fengmian's thighs, biting his lip.

Jiang Fengmian breathed a small laugh which shortly turned into a groan. He was still sensitive from his orgasm and the way that Lan Qingheng's cock was brushing against his own every time he thrust 'in' was only making him gasp.

Every sound Jiang Fengmian made, every gasp was egging Lan Qingheng on. The way his brows turned up and he looked so sweet and innocent, it was just too good. When he came, he kept his eyes on him as he shuddered and gasped. He leaned over him panting for a moment before he put himself back together and lay down on the bed. "You're even prettier when you're having sex, you know," he murmured.

He didn't know if it was how relaxed he felt that made him say what he did, but before Jiang Fengmian could filter his words, he only replied with a: "You have the biggest cock I've ever seen."

Lan Qingheng snorted and laughed out loud. He hadn't heard Jiang Fengmian say something so lewd before, didn't even think he _could._ "I've heard that quite a few times," he said. "I almost scared a poor omega off once just by dropping my pants."

Jiang Fengmian's cheeks were red and he huffed, but he still smiled. "Well, I can see why."

Lan Qingheng turned to face him, smiling. He wasn't going to get over how pretty he was anytime soon. He scooted closer and kissed him, letting his hand rest on Jiang Fengmian's cheek. When they parted he said, "Let me take you out tomorrow. I know of some nice places here."

"Okay," Jiang Fengmian replied. He leaned against Lan Qingheng affectionately. "I'd like that."


	60. The End... Or Is It?

The atmosphere only grew more tense across the entire kingdom as the months turned into years. Yunmeng had fallen to the Wens, and after some time, Lanling followed. The Wen army was bigger than anyone expected, and as time went on, the Lan and Jiang families had to wonder how they had managed to escape the estate so easily that summer.

As it turned out, the army had been deployed outwards to intimidate the surrounding regions; and it had worked. The areas that came under Wen control were immediately put under strict rules. Omegas were no longer citizens, but rather extensions of the alphas that owned them. It was not unfamiliar terminology, but it was greatly outdated. Perhaps that was why it was so simple to enforce. The people who fought back against it the most were omegas, and they weren’t listened to even by alphas who weren’t part of the Wen family. Alpha women apparently were the most successful at garnering courage and resistance, but there was no telling how they would accomplish anything with it once the Wen laws were put in place.

The university was at a loss for what to do. They were unsure of whether it was smart to attack the Wens, since their strength was seemingly unending. The Lans’ soldiers were people who weren’t all trained to risk their lives, just students and alumni who were willing to fight to protect their school.

It looked more and more grim each day. They received countless omegas who begged for their protection, and they ended up sending many of them, along with many of their omega students, to a neighboring kingdom where they had contacts who were willing to house them.

Lan Zhan couldn’t help but want to follow. What was happening was terrifying. He went to sleep each night and wondered if the next day would be his last day of freedom. He studied life magic frantically, experimenting on insects and rodents despite the nausea it caused him. He did his best to hide the terror that built in him, but he knew Wei Wuxian could see it. They had been married two years; he couldn’t hide anything from his mate.

The day he learned that the Capitol had surrendered to the Wens, Lan Zhan went to find Jiang Wanyin. He went into the alpha dorms and made his way to the second floor, then knocked on his door.

Jiang Wanyin had been spending his days going to and from Lotus Pier and the University. He still had studying to do, but he'd made a deal with the Wen's growing power (reluctantly and not without a proper fight) to allow him to rebuild Lotus Pier. Jiang Wanyin once swore to himself that he'd never let the Wens tarnish the ground in which his parents had lived, but things were looking bleak.

Not only that, but Jiang Fengmian had refused his offer to come back to Yunmeng with him and restore the land to glory, even if it was under the rule of the Wens. Things couldn't stay this way forever, he thought, and if he could build an army for when the tide turned, then what was it to sacrifice a little of his family's dignity?

He'd been at the University, in Gusu, when the news broke about the Capitol's takeover. Jiang Wanyin had never thought that they would go as far as to come for Gusu but evidently, they were stronger than anyone could have imagined. He was cautious when he heard the knock on his door but he padded over and opened the door slightly.

"Lan Zhan?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed. He opened the door wider for him to come in.

Jiang Wanyin couldn't deny that despite everything, he did have a slight fondness for the omega boy. After all, he'd saved the life of his sister (who was tucked away with Jin Zixuan in Lanling) and had shown him kindness when others had not. The two didn't always see eye to eye but all in all, he wasn't so bad. "Come in."

Lan Zhan went in and sat down at Jiang Wanyin's desk, turning the chair to face the bed. He took a deep breath before he started. "I think they're coming for us next," he said. He wrung his hands nervously, looking at his lap. "What are your plans if that happens?"

"My plans?" Jiang Wanyin asked. What did Lan Zhan expect him to do, exactly? Of course, this was the exact thing that he and Wei Wuxian had fought against at that very first dinner with Wen Ruohan and his son all that time ago, but there wasn't some miracle cure for this situation. "What is there that I _can_ do? Look, you know I'm the last person to suggest giving up but these things take time."

Lan Zhan nodded. "I... have a request," he said. "If you don't have an omega you plan on courting, there is..." He took a deep breath and said, "Su Ming's father hasn't returned from his mission. He was a professor here, and... we haven't seen him since last semester. We were expecting it to take a few weeks at the most. It's been months. She--" He had to pause and swallow the lump in his throat. His pride was just as tight as Jiang Wanyin's; he _wasn't_ going to cry. "When they come for Gusu, she will not have anyone to claim her." He looked at Jiang Wanyin. "She is my best friend. I would like to know that she is somewhere safe. With an alpha who would not take advantage of her."

Jiang Wanyin paused. Lan Zhan was asking him to... what? Claim his friend? He wanted the safety of every omega, that much was true, but it was an unrealistic goal and he knew that. His chances of successfully courting now that he had been told by the healer after the incident at Lotus Pier that he would never sire children were very low. So, what did he have to lose?

"When they come for Gusu, they might deny travel. If I have an omega, I will have to stay in one place. If I do this, she will have to stay with me in Lotus Pier," he said. He met his eyes. "Have you spoken to her about this? Is this what she wants?"

Lan Zhan swallowed. "She's as scared as I am," he said honestly. "I told her that I would find an alpha for her, and that I would ask you first. She wants whatever she can get."

"Okay. I'll... I'll do it. Tell her to pack her things, we'll leave for Lotus Pier as soon as possible. They will grant us passage if she is claimed but we will have to stay in Lotus Pier," Jiang Wanyin said. He took a deep breath. "Is there any other conditions?"

Lan Zhan relaxed, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief. He almost cried just from that, but he held himself together. "You will need to marry her I think," he said. "She has no relatives in contact, so I suppose you can go to the Capitol and have a ceremony with your father and a Wen official as witness? She said that she doesn't need a real wedding, just whatever is required."

Jiang Wanyin moved across the room as Lan Zhan spoke, picking up a bag and starting to fill it with a few items. "We must make haste then. I will do whatever I can, Lan Zhan. I will make sure she's safe with me. Just get her to meet me at the gates."

Lan Zhan nodded and stood up. He sniffed and sucked in a breath. "Thank you," he said, his voice laced with uncharacteristic emotion. "I know she's... a lot to handle. But thank you for taking care of her. It means so much to me."

With that, he left Jiang Wanyin alone and rushed back to his building where the few remaining omegas were housed. "Su Ming!" he called.

When she poked her head out of her room, Lan Zhan pushed inside and started to go through her closet while he explained, "Jiang Wanyin agreed to marry you, but you will go back to Lotus Pier. We don't know when the Wens will attack us, so it is best if you go as soon as possible."

Su Ming didn't answer, she just joined him in gathering her belongings and packing them. "I guess this makes us siblings-in-law?" she joked.

"I think so."

Once they were finished, Lan Zhan helped carry her things to the gates. She hugged him as soon as he set the bags down. "Thank you," she said, her voice thick with tears.

Lan Zhan squeezed her and kissed her shoulder. He wanted to say that he would come and visit, but Jiang Wanyin really didn't like Wei Wuxian anymore, even though he was on good terms with Lan Zhan. He had hoped that time would ease the tension between the two, but it really hadn't. "Write to me, but have it look like Jiang Wanyin writing to Wei Wuxian if you can. I don't know if they will read mail before it is sent, and omegas aren't supposed to read or write."

Su Ming nodded and gave him a tight squeeze before she let go. Her face was red and tears stained her cheeks. "I love you as always," she said. "Take care of yourself and your alpha, okay?"

"You do the same," Lan Zhan said.

Su Ming laughed wetly and wiped her face on her sleeve. She looked at him for a few seconds, then turned to face Jiang Wanyin with a smile. "Fiancé!" she cheered, as if she hadn't just been crying.

Jiang Wanyin looked Su Ming over as she barrelled towards him. She was a fair young girl even if she was noisy. He glanced at Lan Zhan over her shoulder and gave him a nod before he gave Su Ming his full attention. "There's a carriage waiting for us just outside. We'll head to the Capitol and meet with my father so we can be wed. Then it's straight to Lotus Pier, okay?" he said.

Su Ming nodded. “Sounds like a plan!” she said. She picked up her bags and gave Lan Zhan another sad smile. She was going to miss him dearly. “Tell your family I said goodbye and that I love them, okay? Same for your alpha and your rabbits.”

Lan Zhan nodded.

Jiang Wanyin offered a hand for her to give him some of her things. "I can carry some of those."

“Thank you!” Su Ming said. She handed him the heaviest bag. “So what’s in Lotus Pier now? Do you still own the land there? All I know is that it’s hot and sticky but pretty too. I’ve never been that far away before.”

"I have a deal. I don't own the land exactly, but I am permitted to modify it how I wish. Most buildings have been rebuilt now and there are people tending to the gardens, trying to regrow life. People have come from all over in fear of the Wen-dogs. They still own the land but it's under my authority more or less," Jiang Wanyin explained and started to walk out of the gates. He glanced at her. "You won't need so many layers when we get closer to Yunmeng."

Su Ming laughed. “I guess I won’t,” she said. She put what she was carrying in the carriage and then climbed inside. “I have money so I can buy some new clothes once we get down there—“ She stopped and her smile fell. “Well, I guess _you_ have the money, since omegas aren’t allowed to...” She trailed off and pulled her money out of the bag in her lap and handed it to him, her expression complicated.

"It's still your money, even if I'm the one holding it," Jiang Wanyin said firmly, his eyebrows furrowed as he sat next to her in the carriage. "You just pick out whatever you want."

That seemed to ease Su Ming a little. She forced a smile back on and nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “You know, this was the best thing I could have dreamed for. I was thinking maybe I should have escaped with the other omegas already but my dad... anyway, I’m a lucky girl! Everyone says you’re scary but I don’t think so. I’ve seen a lot of alphas that are scarier and other omegas fawn over them. You’re one of the cutest too! I was so surprised when Lan Zhan said you had agreed. What a jackpot!”

Jiang Wanyin was at a loss for words. He turned his head away from her sharply, grimacing. No one had ever called him _cute_ before. His cheeks were burning despite himself. "I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. I'll be busy when we get back to Lotus Pier so make sure you find something to do or whatever. I don't care," he said in a hurried tone.

“Okay!” Su Ming said cheerfully. “I might help in the gardens or something. I’ll keep myself busy. I’ll try not to bother you but I can’t promise, I somehow manage to bother people no matter what.”

"Yeah. Well. That's fine," Jiang Wanyin said. He really didn't know what to do with this omega girl. She wasn't scared of him at all, like most omegas were.

Su Ming sighed and stretched herself out and got comfortable. She knew it was a long ride to the Capitol, and an even longer one to Lotus Pier after that. She would have to do her best not to die of boredom on the way. But for the first time in forever she didn’t feel as scared as she always was, and instead she felt hope.

The letter came a couple of months later in November. To everyone’s surprise, it was from the king himself, declaring that the university was required to follow the Wen laws from that point forward. This meant that omegas were not allowed to attend the school and would only be allowed to reside on campus if they were owned by an alpha who was either a student, staff or part of the Lan family. Omega professors were required to cease teaching as well.

Most of the omega professors were married already, even including Ling Laoshi who had begged any alpha in the school to marry him and had been accepted by Lan Qiren. The others married quickly after the Capitol had surrendered. Lan Xichen had then taken ownership of their mother, since she refused to allow Lan Qingheng to take such a role in her life.

Things were already tense, so receiving the letter was not shocking. The omegas sadly put every piece of writing they owned in the library, including their own research that had to come to an end. Within a week, Wen officials would be arriving to place magic-neutralizing collars on the omegas and search their rooms for any reading material. By that point, the alumni were useless. The orders had come from the _king_. They seriously considered whether to hold their ground – the university’s defense was impeccable. But even if the king’s soldiers weren’t exactly competent, they had numbers. And added to the Wen army? After much debate, they decided to surrender.

Lan Zhan was with his mother and brother when they arrived. The Wen officials came into the residential area with purpose, the leather collars open and ready in their hands. They weren’t soldiers, though there were soldiers accompanying them for protection. Two of the official-soldier duos passed the small group to go rooting through the rooms, and two more stayed to place the collars on Lan Zhan and his mother. They didn’t have a lock on them, Lan Zhan noticed. That was how the collars were removed the last time, through lockpicking. But they were sealed differently now, probably to make them much harder to take off.

Lan Zhan stood obediently while they placed the collar on him, waiting for it to be over. His mother was quiet, and his brother made small talk with the officials. Until they took Lan Zhan’s arm and started to pull him away.

“What are you doing?” Lan Xia asked, alarmed.

“Sorry ma’am,” the official said. “We were ordered to bring your omega son back with us. He’s going to be our head of healing.”

Head of healing? Was this because of his life magic? Lan Zhan swallowed down the terror he felt and looked between his family members helplessly. “May I see my mate first?” he asked weakly.

The official seemed to pause, as if this was new information and he didn’t know what to do with it. “I will ask the boss,” he said.

“He’s married,” Lan Xia said. “His alpha lives here.”

The official nodded. “I will ask the boss,” he said again before pulling Lan Zhan through the door and leading him back through the building.

Lan Zhan went without a fight. He knew that cooperating was the only way to get out of this safely if he could. It sounded like ‘head of healing’ was a position of power. He had already considered this possibility, and how he might have to use his skills (and perhaps his sex appeal too, in an emergency) to survive. But he wanted to see Wei Wuxian first.

When Wei Wuxian saw them coming, his blood went cold. Just the sight of Lan Zhan made his heart pound. That collar... It was different to the ones they had used before. It made sense but it couldn't help but infuriate him to see his mate like that. He pulled Lan Zhan into his arms as soon as he was able, holding his close and breathing in his scent.

His gaze slowly shifted up to the Wen official and the soldiers who had accompanied him. "What do you want?" he asked, voice cold.

The official looked exasperated. "I have orders to take him to Qishan," he said. "He's to be the head of healing there. His mother said he's married. Is that you?"

"Yes. We _are_ married and he's staying right here in Gusu, with me," Wei Wuxian replied firmly. What the fuck did they want with Lan Zhan in Qishan? There was no way he was letting them take him. It would be over his dead body.

The official sighed. "You'll have to talk to Wen Chao then. He's around here somewhere. But right now the omega's coming with me." He took hold of Lan Zhan again, and the soldiers approached to pry Wei Wuxian's hands off him.

Lan Zhan looked at Wei Wuxian, his eyes wide. He was doing his best to contain his nerves.

Wei Wuxian slapped the man's hands away. He didn't look at Lan Zhan, he looked at the official dead in the eyes. "He is mine. I will take him. Escort me to Wen Chao," he said.

“You don’t have the authority here,” the official said, and Lan Zhan could tell he was getting angry.

His heart pounded in fear and he held up a hand to tell Wei Wuxian to calm down. “Can’t you take us to Wen Chao now?” he asked the official. “I know him. If I am to be his head of healing then he should be aware that I’m married.”

The official nodded at the soldiers, who yanked Lan Zhan away from Wei Wuxian. “Follow us then,” he told the alpha. “But until I get a different order, this one stays with us.”

Wei Wuxian was seething but he followed along. He kept a close eye on the official and Lan Zhan the whole time. This wasn't fair. Why Lan Zhan?

They didn't have to wander around for long. They found Wen Chao soon enough once they left the building and walked across campus towards the gates. "Boss," the official said as they approached. "I've got the one you asked for, but they said he's married. Are there new orders?"

"No," Wen Chao said casually. He didn't even spare a look at Wei Wuxian, his eyes firmly planted on Lan Zhan. "We'll take the omega. He agreed to help us, we have it in writing. His mate will agree lest he wants to end up like his brother."

Wei Wuxian prickled at that. " _Fuck_ you. Lan Zhan isn't going anywhere, certainly not with you."

"And what are you going to do about it, hm?" Wen Chao replied. His eyes roved over Lan Zhan's body. "You'll come with me, won't you sweet thing?"

Lan Zhan’s blood ran cold and he chewed on his bottom lip. How could he respond to this? “Do I have a choice?” he asked honestly.

"Well, the more obedient you are, the nicer things will be for you," Wen Chao said.

Wei Wuxian grit his teeth in response, his fists clenched. "He isn't going anywhere. Not without me," he said.

Wen Chao tutted at him. "Such an inconvenience."

Lan Zhan wrung his hands together as memories of what they had done to Jiang Wanyin raced through his mind. He didn’t know how much power he had, but he had to do _something_. “I am open to working for you and giving you what you want,” he said. “But if you harm my husband then I will not be so obedient. My past research will not be found by your men. If you want it or my services then you will meet me part way.”

"Frankly, I don't care what you want," Wen Chao snapped. He approached Lan Zhan in long strides. "What about this situation do you not get? You are an _omega._ You are a _thing_ to be fucked and bred. You're lucky that you're even being granted this privilege and not locked away like all the other omega whores. If you won't obey, we'll just _make_ you. I will humiliate you _and_ your husband."

“Then do it,” Lan Zhan said. His voice shook despite his best efforts. He barely thought about what he was saying at all; he felt desperate for control of the situation and Wei Wuxian’s safety. “There has to be a reason you need a life mage. What miracles do you want me to do? Research for you, heal people, grow back limbs, make the blind see, revive the dead, and spread my legs for you on the side? Isn’t my obedience worth making some inconsequential sacrifices? What if your humiliation only drives me to suicide?”

"Why you-" Wen Chao began but Wei Wuxian was quick to step in. In the time that Wen Chao had been blabbering on, Wei Wuxian thought about how he could mend this situation. There had to be something he could do to get through to him. An idea struck him shortly after. He was going to have to play along.

"Lan Zhan. Be quiet," he growled. He emitted an overpowering dominant scent, one that commanded obedience from his omega. He put a hand on Lan Zhan's chest and pushed him back, away from Wen Chao. Then, he looked at Wen Chao and spoke again. "You stay the fuck away from my property, Wen Chao. I married him, you understand that, right? I own him. It sure is fucking bold of you to try and take another alpha's belongings. Why don't you find another whore to play with? This one spreads his legs for me and me only. He is _my_ omega."

Lan Zhan stayed quiet with his eyes down. The submissive scent he put off was not intentional, but an automatic defense in response to Wei Wuxian’s command and the anxiety of the situation. He knew what Wei Wuxian was doing, and it was smart. He supposed that indirectly offering to sleep with Wen Chao in return for Wei Wuxian’s safety also helped make it more believable, since that would make any alpha upset.

It seemed to make Wen Chao back off a little. He pursed his lips together and took a step back. The strong scent was repulsive but got the message across. He knew that his father wouldn't be impressed if he thought he was low enough to take property that wasn't his in this way. "He still agreed to help," Wen Chao said. "We have it in writing."

Wei Wuxian growled again. "I'm not an idiot. I know who has authority here. My omega can study and practice his magic here for you. He will lend you any help you want and give you his research. But you will _not_ _touch_ what is mine. In return, I will not pass word on that you tried to steal another alpha's property. That's a crime by your own law, isn't it?"

Wen Chao was at a loss. Wei Wuxian had him cornered. He really didn't want to face the wrath of his father. "Fine," he said. He huffed. "But I will station my guards with him while he studies."

"Then I will also be there to make sure no crimes against my property are committed by your guards either," Wei Wuxian replied.

"Fine. You!" Wen Chao said, turning to the official who had brought Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan to him. "Get them out of my sight."

The official looked startled and confused. “What do you want me to do with them?” he asked.

"I don't care! Your job isn't to ask questions! Get them out of here now!" Wen Chao barked.

Wei Wuxian turned to look at Lan Zhan, hoping he didn't seem too troubled by what he'd said.

The official jumped and turned to usher Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan away. "Find a building and stay in there until we're done," he said to Wei Wuxian. Lan Zhan looked demurely at Wei Wuxian and then away, waiting for him to lead.

The male omega dorms were going to be vacant so Wei Wuxian started heading there. By the time they were inside, he turned to look at Lan Zhan and put his hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Lan Zhan nodded quickly. His heart was still pounding and he couldn't quite get the submissive tinge out of his scent. "Thank you," he whispered.

Wei Wuxian cupped Lan Zhan's cheek fondly and rubbed his thumb against his cheekbone. "I love you so much. I'm sorry about what I said, even if I didn't mean it, it left a sour taste in my mouth. I just didn't know how else to get him to back off."

Lan Zhan didn't know what to say, so he just moved in and hugged Wei Wuxian, resting his cheek on his shoulder. What would have happened if he hadn't said those things? Lan Zhan felt so helpless.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he leaned his head against Lan Zhan's. He hugged him back tightly, content to just rock him side to side slightly for the moment.

Things were going to be rough moving forward. If _this_ was required to keep Lan Zhan safe, what else would happen? Should they have put their all into fighting the armies? Was this worth it? Lan Zhan didn’t know. Everything was too complicated and they were stuck. At this point, it would take a miracle to get them out of this mess.

…

And a miracle would come, only one year later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note from Jo:  
> ... And up next is meeting their other halves! Have you guys missed Lan Wangji and Wei Ying??? Thank you everyone who has read and left comments!! I really adore reading all of the comments, they make me super happy and 2020 was made so much better by them!! Part 3 will be posted soon, so make sure to subscribe to the series if you aren't already!


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